It's In The Genes
by HiddenAuthor
Summary: Danny's last adventure ended on a high note in April.  But now, it's time for the next chapter, with new trials and general trouble for the whole team.  Longer Summary inside.  EVOLUTIONS 4, Sequel to HOPES.
1. A Normal Day

**It's In the Genes**

Summary:

Danny has lived through Complicated and Exceptional times, and now looks towards the future with Hope. But many questions remain unanswered from his other adventures. What became of Vlad? Who knows his secret? What strange and unexpected twists await the unique creatures created by the Ghost Portal? These answers are about to be answered in the worst possible way. As Danny finally comes to accept what he is, will he have to make the world do the same?

Disclaimer - I own nothing. Except the plot. So please, imaginary lawyers my paranoid mind insists are real, back off.

Hi! For Christmas, Santa dropped a big, steaming pile of inspiration on my head, so I'm back! Here's 'Its In the Genes', the fourth story in the EVOLUTIONS arc. (I really like the way that sounds. :D )

This story takes place in late August, four months after Hopes ends. That should give the rich Mansons and the ingenious Fentons time to rebuild their homes, and for several important things to take place elsewhere. You'll find out when it's most entertaining. And here's a little reminder to readers: I LOVE REVIEWS! Love them. I give complete, personal responses to every single one. I am also now accepting anonymous reviews, since that turned out great during 'Hopes'. Everyone who reviews, anonymous or otherwise, will get credit at the beginning of the next chapter. Seriously, folks, I love those things. They help encourage me to write and help me to improve on my style and structure. Just drop me a line: criticism, compliments, or a 'Keep it up!' I take all notes. Hope to hear from you!

Well, now that that's settled, on with the show!

HiddenAuthor

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A Normal Day

"ACHOO!"

Danny sniffled miserably from the living room couch. A small mountain of tissues littered the floor between him and the TV, which was currently off. You knew you'd been home sick too long when television got boring.

"Danny, you still there?" Came the call from the downstairs basement.

"Yeah." He called out hoarsely. "I didn't phase out of the house, teleport across town, or end up in the ghost zone." There was a brief pause.

"Did anything blow up?"

If there was one thing to be said of being a half-ghost hybrid, it made colds very interesting. Danny's family had already maxed out their home insurance policy rebuilding the house after it blew up in April. All things considered, his parents weren't exactly thrilled that he might accidentally sneeze and turn one of their nice new walls to vapor.

"No, nothing blew up. I think I…I…ah…ACHOO!"

Green energy flashed across the TV and it started smoking.

"Argh!" He groaned as he rolled off the sofa and unplugged the broken device before it caught fire. He was about to try channel surfing again! Grumbling about the universe's dark conspiracies, he shuffled back onto the couch and collapsed. He felt awful. _Everything_ hurt.

It had started almost a week ago, when he started running a temperature of ninety seven. Considering his average was somewhere around ninety four, this wasn't good news. He felt fine, but his mom had practically tied him to the downstairs couch. (The Fenton Fisher was involved. He didn't like to think about it.) In retrospect, it was a good idea, because he woke up the next day sore all over and completely exhausted. Shifting into his ghost form only made him feel worse, and his control was slipping horribly. He'd taken surprise trips to the Ghost Zone twenty times in the last two days alone, and seen way more of Amity Park than a sick young man should.

Of course, his father had immediately shouted that he was sick with a ghost bug and run downstairs to test a sample of his nose drippings as fast as his casts allowed. Dani had been ordered to stay away from him, though as far as they could tell, whatever he had wasn't contagious. And _that_ was _all_ they'd found out. Knowing his luck, Danny wouldn't have been surprised if he was going to be sick forever. Although…

"Danny?" Sam asked tentatively as she walked into the living room. Danny bent his knees to give her room and she sat down beside him. "I brought your homework. And Lancer told me to tell you he thinks this is just some trick you're pulling so you don't have to come back to school this year."

Danny chuckled. "Right, like I was in class half the time _before_."

School had started yesterday, and Danny had suddenly developed a much better opinion of his cold. The change of heart was instantaneous, and seemed to have happened around the time Sam opened the door. For the last two days she'd brought him his homework and sat with him to help him learn how to do it. It seemed like over the summer all they'd ever done together was fight ghosts and go to the beach or pier or water park. Sitting together on a couch, even with a box of tissues, was a nice change, and Danny was sure he'd be sorry to see it go.

A few minutes later Sam watched with exasperation as Danny bit down on the end of his pencil, looking at his math book with dismay.

"Where are the numbers?" He asked helplessly. Sam shook her head.

"You really are hopeless at this, you know." She chided gently.

"I can't help it. Math is supposed to be about numbers. One plus one is two. Two times two is four. But since when does A plus B equal C minus D times E? I feel like I should be writing an English paper about this thing!" Sam laughed.

"Dani seems to get it. If you need extra help…"

"She still won't come near me. Thinks she'll catch whatever this is." Danny shivered. "Besides, if I asked for her help, she wouldn't stop ribbing on me for weeks."

"Alright." Sam sighed. "Let's try this again." Rolling her eyes, Sam stretched over Danny's knees and grabbed the pencil from his hand. As she turned towards the paper, she froze as she felt a brief, cool touch on her cheek. With visible effort, she forced down a smile and scowled at her student.

"There's your problem right there." She scolded. "You need to focus."

"But you're so pretty." He complained teasingly, fixing on a pout. Sam smiled and turned up her nose. Then, she felt her butt hit the floor. Under the sofa. So much for flirting.

"Danny!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it!" He groaned as he pulled her back up through the couch and collapsed back onto the cushions. "This better wear off fast. I'm so sick of falling through stuff!"

"At least you didn't drop your pants." Sam teased. Danny blushed. After a quiet, embarrassed laugh of her own, Sam sat back down and got to work trying to force advanced algebra through her boyfriend's thick skull.

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"Right, so then you multiply both sides by five…"

"But you can't multiply a _letter!_"

"Ugh! Just put the multiplier _in front _of the letter, and…"

"Trying to learn algebra?"

"Whoa!" Dani gasped and whirled around, her feet hanging suspended above the floor. Maddie was standing right behind her with a knowing smirk.

"And what are you doing, Dani?" She asked casually as the young girl dropped to her feet.

"Um, er, I was just, um, getting a glass of water?" Dani asked hopefully, edging towards the fridge. Maddie smiled.

"Well you certainly have Danny's lying skills." She chuckled. "You shouldn't spy, Dani."

"I wasn't!" Dani insisted. Maddie raised an eyebrow and glanced down disbelievingly at the girl. "I swear! I was just checking to see if I was…interrupting anything." The older huntress frowned at this and motioned for the girl to sit down. Dani headed over to the table, Maddie right behind.

"Alright. What's this all about?" Maddie asked. Dani shifted uncomfortably.

"It's okay. You can talk to me about anything. You know that." The ghost girl was quiet for a while. Finally, she looked up, slightly red.

"I, uh, met this boy in Biology class." She admitted. "When I saw him in class today, I, uh, dropped my pencil. _Through_ my hand." Maddie smiled.

"Ah." Dani's blush deepened, and she seemed to fade from view for a moment.

"Why didn't you want to talk to me about this?" Maddie asked. "I mean, believe it or not, I _am_ a girl." Dani hesitated again.

"I didn't think you'd understand." She admitted. Now Maddie was confused.

"You thought Danny would understand falling in love with a boy?" Dani stared at the older woman for a moment, then giggled. The good mood didn't last long, as she remembered what she was talking about. Maddie resigned herself to working with an embarrassed girl.

"Why then?" She asked gently.

"I didn't think you'd understand the ghost part. Dropping stuff, disappearing, accidentally teleporting into his house…a few times…" She trailed off, redder than ever. "No offense, Mrs. Fenton, but he's the only one that really gets that part." _Now_ Maddie understood.

"Oh." She said quietly, thinking. "Tell you what. Later tonight, all three of us will sit down together and talk this out. Danny can handle the ghost part; I'll handle the boy part." Dani nodded slowly, looking a bit unsure, and headed back towards the stairs.

"Dani." She froze. "Who's this boy, anyway?" Maddie asked mischievously. Dani turned around and pulled off a sly grin, despite her red face.

"You'll just have to wait for tonight."

With that, the young girl turned around and ran upstairs to her room. Maddie sighed. Teenagers were hard enough. But teenagers that could fly and blow things up? She and Jack were doing their best, but they were making things up as they went. And these kinds of problems were inevitable. How could they give their kids meaningful advice if they had no idea what they were going through?

Her musing was interrupted as the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" She called down to Jack, so he wouldn't drop all of their equipment to hobble upstairs. "Hello?"

"Mads?" She grinned.

"Damon?" She asked happily.

"The one and only." Came the traditional answer. "Did you see the paper today?" Maddie laughed quietly to herself as she looked down at the cover.

'_Montez Impeached!_

_After evidence of irresponsible action and blatant corruption in office, Mayor Montez was officially impeached today. Given his years of service to the city, Montez has brokered a deal with Judge Farraday to plead guilty to all charges brought against him, provided his sentence be restricted to hours of community service with no prison time. Montez was officially stripped of his title and powers at five o-clock yesterday afternoon by Farraday and escorted back to his home, where he remains under house arrest until his sentencing at the end of the week.'_

"Paper? What paper?" She asked innocently.

"You did!" He crowed. "And about time, too! After everything he did to this town, to me _personally_, he had to go! The public finally came to its senses about him!"

"And I'm sure your ten hours a week of negative campaigning had nothing to do with it." She said dryly. Damon chuckled. "So was that the only reason behind the call? Because Jack and I were going to see you tomorrow and congratulate you then anyway."

"No, there's something else." Damon said hesitantly. "I wanted to know how Danny was feeling."

"Oh." Maddie stuttered for a second. She spared a glance towards the living room, where Sam was leaning against her son's shoulder, looking down at a math book and gesturing wildly. She smirked as Danny discretely snuck an arm around her shoulder while 'listening' to the lesson.

"He's feeling much better right now, but he's still sick."

"A whole week? Shouldn't he see a doctor?"

"No." Maddie answered quickly. "Er, no, that's alright. Jack was a little overexcited when Danny got sick and ran a full diagnostic to rule out possession or something. Danny will be fine; he's just got a stubborn bug." Silently, the older woman prayed that was true.

"Ah. Well, there was something else."

"Yes?" The line was silent for a moment.

"I know Valerie's been covering for Phantom this whole week. Is there…is there something you want to tell me about where he is, and why he can't go on patrol right now?" Maddie gulped, and looked back at her son.

"I wish I knew." She whispered. "I'm sure he'll be back soon." There was a longer pause.

"Right." Damon answered shortly. "Take care, Maddie."

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BOOM!

The ground shook, glass shattered. And down one dark alley, a pair of brilliant red eyes looked out from a body of bricks and stone blocks. Whole chunks of pavement had already been ripped from the ground, only to fly over and join the growing body. Chuckling darkly, the evil spirit lifted its heavy body and took a step towards the unsuspecting citizens of Amity Park. The ground cracked beneath its feet. At the opening of the alley, a beat up old car squealed to a halt, blocking its path. A pair of spectacled eyes stared at the creature from the driver's seat under a battered red beret.

"Val!" Tucker shouted into a two-way radio on the dash. "Ghost in the alley behind the Shop and Stop!" Glowing rocks hurtled from the monster's outstretched hands to bounce off a flickering green shield surrounding the car. "And it's mean!" A familiar whine could suddenly be heard over the slow, deep thuds of the rock creature's steps.

"I got it!" Shouted a voice back at Tucker. Sticking his head out of his car window, Tucker looked up into the sky to catch sight of his girlfriend flying towards the alley. Seeing a closer target, the creature tried a second volley. The rocks clattered off of the portable ghost shield, sending sparks through the air and…

"My hat!" Tucker shouted in dismay as his beret was vaporized by the energy discharge. The smell of burning hair filled the air, but Tucker only had eyes for the monster. Growling, he leaned over to the passenger seat and whipped out a large bazooka. Taking careful aim, he slammed his fist onto a button on the dash behind the wheel and pulled the trigger. A tight, powerful beam of ecto-energy ripped through the air the second the shield dropped and blasted the ghost in the chest. Flecks of molten rock spattered the ground around him, and it blew back several feet. Dropping the bazooka, Tucker pulled up a metal thermos and shot out a blue ray at the hole he made in the stone armor. A small, pathetic-looking spirit flew out of the gap and into the containment device. The stone structure collapsed.

Valerie landed in the alley a few seconds later.

"I said I got it!" She called to her boyfriend in exasperation.

"He got my hat." Tucker said through gritted teeth. Val laughed, and clicked her heels together. A few minutes later, the pair was tearing down the road; the huntress eyeing her boyfriend's singed hair critically as he kept his eyes on traffic. Her look turned exasperated as Tucker popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a brand new beret.

"You keep spares?" She asked incredulously.

"If you had a girlfriend who used laser guns, you would too." He said shortly, turning towards her apartment. "So are we done for now?"

"Yeah." She said, exhausted. "I think we've done enough for today. Let the anti-ghost crew handle the rest." Tucker nodded.

"I hope Danny gets over his…whatever…soon." He muttered as he pulled up to drop her off. "Fighting ghosts is fun, but we need a break." Val nodded, and smirked over at him.

"So what did you have in mind for this break?" She asked.

"Dinner? Movie? Build a new death ray?" Valerie laughed.

"It's a date. Saturday?"

"I'll bring the parts."

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Damon looked at the report in dismay. In the end, it seemed that Montez's 'free money' had actually set the Tower project back months, and thrown an extra million onto the price tag. Every single computer, automated device, and generator had been melted. The only thing that actually stayed up were the towers themselves, but gutting and rewiring them would be almost as expensive as tearing them down and starting over!

"Sir?" He looked up. Anne Hoss was standing in his door, looking a bit nervous. Ever since he'd officially broken off the Anti-ghost Division from the regular police and moved headquarters to Tower 1, Anne had been growing increasingly awkward about her position as second in command. He relied on her a great deal to manage the officers while he got the Tower Project back up, and she'd always been capable before. Some day when he had time he'd try and puzzle out why she'd suddenly become so hesitant and uncertain, but for now he just needed to get her to talk.

"Go ahead, Hoss. What is it?"

"It's that Foley boy again. We saw him fighting ghosts with the huntress. We know we're supposed to leave her and Phantom alone to do as they wish, but he's a civilian. I was wondering what course of action you recommend."

"Nothing."

"Sir?" Damon sighed.

"Tucker Foley has worked with me closely for several months, helping to construct the Tower systems and even _designing _some of them. He is a capable technician and ghost hunter, and has worked closely with Phantom and the Huntress in the past."

"So is he…with us?"

"He's freelance, like Phantom and Huntress. You will give him the same freedoms and consideration you give the others. Also," he lowered his voice, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't repeat any of that to anyone else. Mr. Foley doesn't have the luxury of a secret identity like Huntress, and I'm sure he'd like some privacy. I don't want the people of Amity Park to know what he's doing until he tells them himself. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Hoss started towards the door.

"Was there something else?" She froze, and turned towards him. For a moment, it looked like she wanted to say something. But it passed, and she seemed to sag before giving a second salute.

"No sir."

"Thank you Hoss. Dismissed." One of these days, he'd figure it out. When he had time.

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"Computer. Run diagnostic on samples V8 through V22." Lights blinked, sealed glass dishes were lifted out of warm baths, numbers flickered over screens.

"All samples in terminal necrosis except V19." Vlad's eyes lit up. One of them wasn't dying! Perhaps this was the one!

"Run diagnostic on V19." He said, trying to keep his voice steady despite his excitement so the computer would understand. There was a brief pause.

"Sample multiplying virulently. Several mutations on genetic level present, as well as four different new types of cancer."

"AHHH!"

Vlad punched the top of his lab table in fury, blinking moisture from his eyes. It was impossible. The proto-portal that gave him his powers all those years ago was long-since destroyed, and the precise energy wavelength, delivery method, and pulse duration gone with it. He had reconstructed a copy of the original device with religious precision, but the horrible truth was that it would do no good. A slight difference in the length of a wire from the original, an impurity in one of the parts, an electric hiccup; it would take no more than that to make his new proto-portal completely useless.

The billionaire took several deep breaths, once again surprised that in his anger, the room was not lit with that familiar red glow. It was strange what you missed. But Vlad Plasmius had been destroyed by the twice cursed GIW, his ectoplasm levels drained below some unknown critical point while he slept. And Masters had no way to get him back. True, he'd escaped federal prison and GIW labs alike, but he'd take on such punishments willingly if it would bring his powers back.

"Computer." He managed at last. "Run a new series of exposure tests on samples V23 through V40, making small changes from the V19 settings."

"It shall be done. Expect results in one week's time."

Grimacing at the necessary time delay, Vlad made his way out of his basement lab and into the study of his rebuilt Wisconsin mansion. Getting new genetic research equipment hadn't been easy after all of the negative publicity he suffered in April. But money talked. And Vlad refused to give up on regaining his power. When Vlad Masters wanted something, the world obliged. It was only a matter of time. Eyes narrowed in impatience at how slowly the universe was moving to obey him this time, Vlad began his daily web scan on world events of interest.

"Ghost Zone." Nothing new.

"Masters." Lots of stock information, all good. But nothing he didn't expect.

"Amity Park."

'_Montez Impeached!'_

"What's this?" Vlad asked curiously, scanning the article. A small smile began to grow on the billionaire's face.

"It seems that Amity Park needs a new mayor. Someone to help them with their Ghost troubles."

There was simply no way they'd have him. At least, not now. But Vlad found, to his slight surprise, that he wanted to give it a try. Certainly power over Amity would help him to neutralize the rapidly growing threat Daniel presented, and would be ideal for his future relationship with Maddie. Not that she would join him willingly. Vlad had no illusions of that. But he wanted it. And when Vlad wanted something…

A dark smile on his face, Vlad closed the window and started laying his plans. It would take every ounce of his cunning to even attempt this. The Fentons would do their best to destroy his chances, and Daniel was now a powerful influence in the city. But with the right leverage, and the proper circumstances…

"I think I shall try my hand at politics."


	2. An Unexpected Change

Hi!

First draft of this was good, but I like this better. Let's add some plot thickener. Also, I'm surprised so many people think Danny has a germ. A good theory, but not quite right. We'll see if the cliffie on this number doesn't help clear things up:D

Right, much love to all reviewers! Thanks to Epona Harper, "Lisel", The Fluff Ghost, cordria, AnimeFan101, hermie-the-frog, Meagainsttheworld, "densetsunosannin", Queen S of Randomness 016, "Linda", Nobody Famous, "Quacked Lurker", Unrealistic, lightanddarklove, kitain9, MoonrockBlink1772, Osparrow, bluename, Adran06, Diamond Raider, mattchew, Writer's-BlockDP, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, Fan-Fic-CC27, and BarnOwl93. You guys are most awesome!

If I missed someone, sorry. The email here is down AGAIN, and I've had to track reviews through the site, which is always a little behind and confusing. That probably means you haven't gotten my responses to your reviews yet. Special kudos and an apology to Kyasarin, who's reviewed almost every one of my chapters while I was away, and who will be getting ALL of the responses in the massive email backlog when it comes. o.O

That said, here's chapter two. Later! I'm off to eat food, and stuff.

HiddenAuthor

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An Unexpected Change

"Sir?"

That settled it. Whoever it was knew he was here. Keeping quiet any longer would be useless, and perhaps even dangerous. He might end up with a worse job.

"Enter."

S grimaced as the door to his cubby-hole office creaked open to admit one of the new GIW cadets. Why was he always getting the new ones?

"Er, yes, well, I, um, you see, I've been assigned, to the, er, Phantom Project." Oh yes. That's why.

The Phantom Project, mockingly called 'Project Spook' by many of his former peers, had been without a doubt the greatest washout in the history of the GIW. S and his old partner, M, had been sent to Amity Park to defame and capture the infamous Danny Phantom, a ghost who gave his superiors grave disquiet. His power, while high, was not exceptional. No, the problem was how fast it was growing. An entire branch of scientists had been assembled and were even now trying to explain how it was possible for a ghost that spent so much time on the Human Plane to gather that kind of strength. Both S and M had been promised large promotions when they came back with their captive, and both had gone willingly, eager to avenge the lost mind of their fellow agent, K.

Things had gone horribly on the day of the capture. M had been killed trying to take command of the city's shield towers. Millions of dollars of equipment had been lost. And S had nothing to show for it. The citizens themselves were outraged that the Guys in White had tried to capture their hero, and when they found out he was behind the slanderous stories printed in the 'Spook'…

But S had not been demoted, or discharged. Oh no, that would have been too easy. After such a colossal failure, his superiors had something special planned for him. S had been named head of the 'Phantom Project' and condemned to spend the rest of his life in a small basement cupboard with a desk. His annual budget was barely enough to keep the lights on, yet he was expected to train and employ every inexperienced and inept recruit that came into the GIW. Which brought him back to-

"Who are you?" He asked his new cash drain tiredly, eyes returning to the latest Amity Park newspaper.

"They, er, didn't give me a letter, sir. They said I'd get one when I got a better post." The pencil in S's right hand snapped in half. _That_ insult was new.

"Right." He said shortly. "Report to me at 0600 tomorrow for your first assignment. And figure out something for me to call you by then." With a second salute, the nameless cadet was gone.

S sighed, returning to his 'work'. With Phantom a public hero and a previous capture attempt to arouse suspicion, there wasn't much the GIW could do besides watch him and try and figure out who and what he really was. So every week he sent some cadet or other into Amity to spy on him for a while and bring back information. There was never anything good, but at least this week was different. Phantom had vanished.

"Where are you?" S whispered. Once again, a bright blue light seemed to flicker in the back of his mind. But, just like every other time, it vanished the second he tried to remember where it came from.

"And what are you?" He added, even more quietly. He thought he'd known once. Maybe K had known too. If that was the case, S considered himself lucky he hadn't met the same fate. You could still hear agent K babbling insanely in one of the base's many basement labs as his fellow agents tried to 'cure' him of his amnesia, despite the side effects. Was K even in there any more? S shuddered. Though not really his fault, it all came back to Phantom.

"Why are you here?"

And why did he care? Phantom was a ghost. Nothing worth caring about. _There was that light again_! S shook his head. He needed more sleep. Or more coffee. Rubbing his eyes, S looked down at the mountain of useless paperwork he'd been reduced to sorting.

"Coffee it is."

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"Dani, how well do you know this Kevin kid anyway?" Danny asked skeptically from across the table. Dani shrugged, looking a bit pink.

"I just met him. But he's cute, and funny, and he holds doors open for other people, and when he doesn't know the answer to a question, he does this thing where he chews on the cap of his pen and-"

"Hold it." Danny held up his hand. "I don't care what he does with his pen. You just met him. Don't you think you're taking this a little fast?" Dani stared at her cousin incredulously.

"Excuse me? Didn't you drop your pants in front of _your_ first crush? I think I'm doing pretty well." Maddie smirked as Danny sputtered indignantly, and calmly sipped her tea.

"It was an accident! And that's not the point! I knew Sam for _years_ before I started dating _her_. You should try and-"

"It's not my fault you were too clueless to notice she liked you!" Dani retorted angrily, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Or that I was only created two years ago! I haven't had that kind of time. Besides, you're only here to help with the ghost part! You can be meddling and overprotective later!"

Danny scowled darkly at his younger cousin. As if he didn't need _another _headache. He tried one more time to picture this Kevin kid. It was no good. Kevin was at least two years younger than him, and he'd probably never seen him before. But somehow, he knew the kid was a punk.

"Achoo!" The living room light bulb popped. Danny dropped his head onto the kitchen table with an audible thud, sniffling. "This has to stop."

"Speaking of ghost problems." Dani prompted as Maddie flipped on the counter lights and sat back down. Danny shrugged, his face never leaving the tabletop.

"I don't know. It seems like when I'm human, my powers are more tied to what I'm feeling than what I want. And a pretty gir- um, boy will mess with your control like nothing else. Instead of blushing, I disappear. Instead of getting queasy, I drop my pants. Or lose an arm. Try counting to ten, or deep breaths."

"Does that work?" Dani asked as Maddie jotted down some notes one-handed. Danny shrugged.

"Helped me keep my pants on when I went out with Sam." Maddie spat up some tea, coughing. Danny's eyes widened. Dani struggled to keep a straight face.

"Er, right. That's good to know. So, what about makeup and junk?" She asked, turning towards Maddie as she wiped her face off.

"And that's my cue to go to bed." Danny said, rising slowly to his feet and ambling off to the living room as fast as he comfortably could. Maddie smiled and shook her head.

"What do you want to know?" Dani grimaced.

"Do I _have _to wear it? It looks so gross." Ah. At last, normal teen trouble. Maybe things would be all right after all.

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"You want me to do _what_?" Walker asked incredulously. Vlad sat back inside his Ghost Zone probe and gave Walker a cool smile.

"You heard me Walker." The Ghost Zone Warden scowled at the human intruder.

"Breaking into another ghost's haunting ground is against the rules." He said coldly.

"Unless you're invited." Vlad finished with a small smile. "I'll see to the fine details personally."

Walker let out a disbelieving snort. Vlad was formidable, yes, but he was only human. Yet there he sat, in the middle of his prison, without powers, unafraid. Making _deals_.

"Still," the tall ghost pressed, "I don't see why I should risk this. Thanks to Clockwork, that ghost punk was cleared of all charges. And he hasn't been around here since. Why should I waste time and guards on someone I can't touch?"

"Because _I_ can give you someone you _can_ touch." Vlad answered smoothly, tossing a small, glowing briefcase across the room. Glaring suspiciously at the billionaire human, Walker popped open the clasps and shuffled through the papers inside. His eyes lost some of their suspicion and acquired a look of almost insane desire.

"You have proof he's been hording real world contraband?" He asked as he continued his search. Vlad nodded.

"There's enough evidence in there to hold him for a few weeks. The photos and physical evidence you need to lock him up for good…you can have them _after_ you finish the job." The warden closed the case with a brisk snap and looked up at his guest with grudging respect. He was human, but there wasn't any 'only' about it.

"I don't like you, Masters. But I have to admit, you are handy."

"Strange." Vlad returned. "I feel quite the same way about you." Without another word exchanged, the probe flew through the outer prison wall and back towards the glowing red portal in the distance. Walker took a moment to weigh his options.

Vlad hadn't waited to see if he accepted. But he _had _left enough evidence for at least a few weeks' sentence. And promised more. As much as Walker hated Masters, rule breaker that he was, _this_ one had personally insulted him and gotten off free. There was really no choice at all.

Walker popped open the case and pressed down on his intercom.

"Bullet, gather a small squad for a capture. We've got a Wulf on the lamb." Walker looked at the top file with a vicious grin. "And I know just where to find him."

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"The immune system is a powerful and complicated defense. Millions and millions of tiny cells are always flowing through our bodies, looking for anything that doesn't belong. It could be a germ, a virus, or even dangerous foreign creatures. But there are still many things about it that we can't understand. Perfectly safe cells and particles might cause a severe allergic reaction if the body can't recognize them. Can any of you give me an example? Dani, how about you? Dani?"

Kevin was looking intently at Ms. Lorenz's notes on the board, chewing nervously on his pen cap, as usual. So of course, Dani was looking intently at Kevin, counting to ten over and over in her head.

"Ms. Fenton!" There went the pencil again. Blushing, Dani passed it off as clumsiness _again_, and bent over to pick it up off the floor. A few snickers filled the room.

"Um, what?"

"An example. Of an allergic reaction. It was in the assigned reading." Ms. Lorenz deadpanned.

"Oh! Um…the wrong blood type?"

"Yes." Her teacher answered briskly, turning towards the board again. "Blood is…"

Blood was filling up _way_ too much of her face. Dani began counting again before she disappeared. Kevin had to think she was such a spazz!

"Dani?"

"YAH!" She jumped slightly, and hit the floor. _Through_ her chair.

"Are you okay?" Kevin asked worriedly. "Class let out like five minutes ago, and you were sort of…staring at the wall." Blushing, Dani gripped his offered hand and pulled herself to her feet.

"I'm fine, just…um…slipped." Smooth. Kevin smiled crookedly.

"Saw that. Um…could I have my hand back?"

"Wha…" Her eyes widened. "Oh! Sorry."

"It's okay." He said awkwardly, sticking his thumbs into his pockets. "Uh, look, I, um, wanted to ask you something."

"Huh?" One two three four five six seven eight nine ten.

Kevin sighed. "I don't get this stuff. But you do. I've seen your grades. I was wondering…would you help me?"

"Yes!" Dani said. A little _too_ fast. "Er, yeah. Sure. How about tomorrow after school? Library?"

"Okay." Kevin nodded eagerly. "There's that test on Monday, and I have no idea what I'm doing. See you then!"

Dani waited a few minutes after he left.

"YES! And the pants are still on!"

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"So you can do it?" Jack nodded eagerly from his seat.

"Absolutely! No problem, D-man! Maddie and I don't have any other big projects right now, and this is definitely big!" The hunter frowned. "But why not have Axion do it? I mean, we won't charge you more than them, but they'd finish sooner."

"Axion still has too many ties with the Guys in White and Dalv." Damon answered shortly. "And I don't want either of them touching the new towers. Tucker already agreed to help me with the operating system, and I'm working with the school to get him credit for it. I want people I can trust to build the weapons." Jack beamed and snapped a salute.

"You can count on the Fentons! We'll start right away."

"Of course we'll help, Damon." Maddie threw in. "We'll do our best."

"You two _are_ the best." Damon responded firmly. "Nobody makes ghost tech like you two. And the towers should have the best there is." Both of his friends beamed. "So, how's Danny doing?" He asked casually. "Any change?" The couple seemed to hesitate, then shook their heads.

"No, nothing." Maddie confessed. "No change, better or worse."

"He'll beat it!" Jack said confidently. "Danny's tough, no bug will keep him down." Damon nodded absently as he shuffled through his files. He'd have time later in the week to press his friends more about their confusing son, and why he and Phantom were so close. Right now, he had _way_ too much to do. Without an acting mayor, every decion took twice as long and took twice as much paper.

"Sir?" Anne called from the hallway.

"Excuse me." Gray said to the Fentons. "Yes, Hoss?"

"Your proposal to reopen one in every ten towers around the city perimeter and station Anti-Ghost officers for faster response time was approved. Oh, hello. Am I interrupting something?" She interrupted herself, smiling uncertainly at Damon's two guests.

"Oh, yes. Officer Hoss, this is Jack and Maddie Fenton. Jack, Maddie, this is First Officer Hoss."

"Anne, please." She said, shaking their hands before turning back to her superior. "I have nothing else to report, sir."

"Very good, Hoss. Dismissed." Sighing, Anne headed down to start relocating divisions.

"She seems nice." Maddie said with a slight smile. Damon nodded.

"Oh yes, she's a very capable officer. Seems a bit nervous sometimes though. Anyway, I didn't have anything else to ask, so if you two want to head home, I still have hours of work to do." Nodding, Jack and Maddie took off after officer Hoss. Jack flashed a wicked grin.

"Clueless."

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Danny yawned and stretched his arms as he pushed himself up from the couch. He froze. Slowly, he rotated his arm. Then turned to his side. Nothing. No ache, no sneezing, no headache…he felt…good.

Grinning, he rolled off the couch and headed towards the kitchen, first slowly, then more quickly. Now practically bouncing with happiness, he tore down the stairs to the lab, where his parents were both working on some sort of death ray.

"Guys!" He shouted excitedly. Both of them looked up in alarm.

"You didn't sneeze a wall off, right?" He shook his head quickly.

"No! I think I'm over it! I feel great! No runny nose, no headache, nothing!"

"That's nice, dear, but…just sit down for a second." Maddie said nervously. "You don't want to overdo it right after you fought it off, or it might come back." Danny was sitting in record time. Dropping her work, his mother made her way over and felt his forehead.

"Cold, a bit clammy…yes, I think you're back to normal." She nodded approvingly. "Your fever broke, at least. About time, too. I was starting to worry."

"You and me both." Danny agreed. "I didn't think I'd _ever_ get better. So what _was_ it, anyway?" Jack shrugged.

"No idea." He answered shortly. "I tested that sample of yours against every disease I could think of; couldn't find a thing."

"Hmm." Maddie pursed her lips. "You should probably take it easy the rest of today. Maybe tomorrow too. A normal temperature's a good sign, but it doesn't mean you're really better."

"No. I want to go to school." Both of his parents stared. Danny blinked. "What? I'm sick of staying home. And I could hang out with Sam Tucker and Valerie. Please?"

"You're sure he isn't running a fever?" Jack asked, only half joking. Maddie nodded, smiling slightly.

"Alright, Danny. If you still feel alright, you can go to school tomorrow. But tonight, I want a blood sample." Danny paled. "Just a small one. A blood sample might help rule a few more things out. I just need to see if you're really better."

"Fine." Danny said resignedly, propping up his arm. Maddie quickly produced a needle. Why did they always have to be so long and pointy?

Mrs. Fenton pulled a sizable blood sample and passed her son some gauze to press down on the puncture wound. Still smiling at how great he felt, Danny headed back upstairs to try and survive one more night of bed rest.

He didn't notice that under the gauze, there was a brief green flicker. The puncture wound was already gone.


	3. A Surprise Move

Eheh...

Meant to put this up last night, but there were two REALLY annoying bits that didn't fit right. So here it is, a few hours late, but much much better. After typing this, I'm back to finishing up chapter 4, and rehashing some complicated semi-medical crap to validate everything that happens in this story. Long story short, I have a headache, but I'm pleased. Hope you will be too.

Love and adoration to all who press the review button. Special kudos to 'Quacked Lurker'. You always write me with suggestions, cautions, and praise. I really hope you get an account so I can laud you to the skies by way of response. And of course a warm welcome to all newcomers. Thanks to Sasia93, cariadiorarua (love the name), The Fluff Ghost, Meagainsttheworld, 'Linda' (I know you gave me an email address, but I don't like to do that outside of fanfiction. Come see me on DeviantArt! We'll talk), Diamond Raider, fan-girls2.0, Pieling, cordria, acosta parez jose ramiro (read his Casper fic), Nikky Phantom of the Opera, Unrealistic, bluename, Adran06, egyptianqueen777, magpie8spook, lightanddarklove, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, hermie-the-frog, The Phantom Dragon, 'Quacked Lurker', and Ginny of Queenscove.

One last note. You'll see more of Kevin in this one, and those of you who have seen "Fright before Christmas" should get a general idea of what he looks like. I'm trying to practice OC's a bit more this story, and I'd love advice and opinions on my work. I am trying to make him a NORMAL guy. Not special, in any definition. Also, those of you who were curious will see what Jazz is up to. Later!

HiddenAuthor

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A Surprise Move

Beep, ba-ba-beee, ba-beee, ba-ba bee-bee!

"Someone is going to die." Sam said quietly to herself as she opened her eyes. Rubbing the sleep out of them, she turned to look out her window before picking up the cell phone on her bedside table. It was still dark.

"Correction. Someone is going to die slowly." Scowling, she tore her phone from its charger and flipped it open.

"Whoever you are, check your will. You die today."

"Can't I just meet you half way?" Came an amused voice from the other end.

"Danny?" She said in surprise. "It's six in the morning. What do you want?"

"Oh. Right." She heard him chuckle nervously over the phone. "Sorry about the time. Mom and Dad wanted to check me before they went out on 'Fenton business'. So they woke me up almost an hour ago." There was a pause. "Actually it was pretty brave of them, considering what happened the last time my alarm clock went off early." Sam laughed.

"Alright. You have my attention." She said seriously. "What's up?"

"I'm better." Came the simple reply. Sam grinned.

"Really? So you'll be back in school today?"

"Yep." An amused look flicked across Sam's face.

"Well…" she paused. "That's _almost_ worth waking me up. Got anything else, or should I bring ghost weapons with me to class?" Danny laughed.

"Want to hit the Nasty Burger after school? Tucker and Val could come too."

"Hmm…alright. Consider your life spared. See you in two hours?"

"It's a date. Later."

Sam hung up, shaking her head in exasperation. Danny was such a dork, calling her at six. He probably hadn't even thought about it. A small smile crept across her face as she pictured him rubbing his neck when he apologized over the phone. A cute dork, then. Still smiling, Sam curled up and went back to bed.

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Dani came downstairs and froze. The bathroom door was shut, and there was running water inside. She'd only gone back up to her room for a minute!

"Danny?" She asked, tapping.

"What?" He shouted back. Well, at least she knew _who_ it was. But that changed nothing.

"What are you doing?" She asked in exasperation.

"Um, taking a shower?" He answered slowly. Dani rolled her eyes and knocked harder.

"Not that, stupid! I'm meeting Kevin after school today. I need to look good." She blushed slightly. Sure, it was just studying, but still…

"So go dress up or something." Embarrassment gone, anger back.

"All of my stuff's in there!" There was a brief pause.

"Oh. Well I just got in here. I'll be out in ten minutes."

"That only leaves me five! I need more time than that!" Silently she prayed it wouldn't take that long. But this _was_ her first try by herself. How long did putting makeup on take, anyway?

"Tough. I was here first." Dani's eyes flashed green. Slowly, the ghost girl slid her hand into the wall behind the shower and let the chill of her ice powers flow.

"AHHHHHHH!"

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Tucker pulled up in his car outside the Fenton house at eight. Val grinned at Danny from the front seat as Sam stepped out and gave him a quick hug. All three of his friends stared in confusion as Dani blew past him in a huff, going out of her way to bump him in the side.

"What's up with her?" Sam asked as the ghost girl stormed off.

"We had a fight." Danny admitted. "We both wanted the bathroom, I was in the shower, and ice powers were involved. But I let her out of the thermos when I finished my turn."

"Dude!" Tucker said, torn between amusement and accusation. "You'd turn that suction tube on family?"

"That water was cold!" Danny retorted angrily. "_And_ I just got over that monster flu!" Sam chuckled, pulling him towards the car.

"If you think you've had too many shocks now, just wait." She confided. "You haven't seen Tucker drive this thing yet."

"Hey!" Their friend called from the front seat. "I'm a great driver! I've been handling the Specter Speeder for years!"

"Yeah," Sam retorted, "but that's _supposed_ to fly." Val laughed as her boyfriend's face turned red, offering a consoling smile.

"Don't listen to her, Danny." She called out. "She's got no sense of adventure! You only live once. Or…twice…I guess." Danny rolled his eyes as he headed towards his seat.

"OW!" Green energy spattered off of the car's surface, shooting into Danny's hand. Pulling back sharply, he shook his fingers to get the feeling back and glared at the driver.

"Jeez Tuck, if you didn't want to give me a ride, you could have just said so." Tucker shook his head quickly, eyes wide.

"I swear I calibrated this thing! It should only deflect full ghosts."

"Well last time I checked, I had a pulse." Danny said dryly. "Maybe you made a mistake?" Tucker coughed and nodded, looking confused. Val shrugged.

"Aw, a few hundred volts won't hurt _you_, right Ghost Boy?" She asked, batting her eyelashes in a fan girlish way.

"Thousand." Tucker corrected absently under his breath as he switched off his defenses. "Okay, Danny. It's safe now. Sorry." Danny sat down and placed his bag on his lap. Sam giggled from the seat beside him.

"What?" He asked suspiciously. Sam did not giggle. Something was up.

"Nothing." Sam said quickly, her eyes grazing the car roof fleetingly. Danny lifted his hand as Tucker pulled out. His hair was sticking straight up, brushing against the top of the car.

"Argh!" He groaned as he patted it down firmly.

"What went wrong?" Val asked curiously as they made a left. Tucker shrugged.

"I know its right. Maybe there's a bad wire or something. I'll just leave it off for now."

"What's the point of having a shield if it's off?" Sam asked teasingly from Danny's left. "I'm sure Danny can take the abuse." Danny scowled. Sam stuck out her tongue.

"Nah. Who needs it?" Val asked. "The two best ghost hunters in Amity Park are in this car…and I guess Danny could help too. If a week out of commission didn't turn him into _too_ much of a wimp."

"What is this, pick on the ghost day?" Danny asked whiningly. Val smirked.

"We just missed ya, spooky. And Tucker really has gotten better." Tucker blushed. Sam grinned. She's missed this, too.

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"Writer!"

Ghostwriter looked up from his latest, incomplete, work and tipped his glasses to survey the intruder.

"Oh. Hello, Wulf." He intoned slowly and precisely. "You're early for your English lesson."

"No time!" The hairy ghost panted. "Trouble!" Writer immediately set down his giant quill pen and shot Ember an urgent look. Nodding, the former rocker immediately flew to the door and kept watch.

"What's going on, Wulf?" Writer asked briskly as the hairy ghost bounded over to his desk.

"Walker." Came the response. Ember tensed, and increased the intensity of her search. "He is knowing of mine crimes." Ghostwriter winced slightly, but given the circumstance, was not about to correct him.

"How?"

"No se. But he is being where mine collection is holded when not here."

"He didn't _find_ anything?" The author asked in real alarm. Wulf quickly shook his head. "Good. Then he has nothing." Wulf shook his head again.

"No. Something is had. They chase me."

"Right." Ghostwriter finally said, flying up to an upper tier of his vast library and pulling a book. The wall slid away, revealing a steep ramp. "Stay here." He called to Ember, and motioned for Wulf to enter ahead.

The two passed through the door, which snapped shut behind them, and followed the curve of the cases from behind back to ground level, where Writer lifted a heavy grate, revealing a ladder descending into darkness.

"In times of trouble, intellectuals are always the first to go." He answered Wulf's unspoken question. "An emergency exit seemed wise. You'll come up through a stone in one of Pariah's army cemeteries. Go quickly."

"And you?" Wulf asked, concerned. But Writer was already heading back up the ramp.

"I'm going back. If those guards even _think_ to hurt my books, we'll see who needs protection."

Shaking his head at the strange creature that called this place home, Wulf dropped through the grate and headed off at a run. Months of planning wasted! He'd even started learning English to help! How in the world had Walker managed to catch him? And worse, now he'd probably been followed to Writer's.

But he had his orders. The three of them had laid careful plans for every emergency they could imagine, and Wulf was not about to go back on those plans now. Writer could handle himself, and with no evidence, there wasn't much _permanent_ damage Walker could do to his friends. Unless the police ghost had something on _them_ too.

Pushing such distractions from his thoughts, Wulf pulled up against the far wall at the end of the escape tunnel and pressed his ear to the bottom of the escape hatch. Loud voices echoed from behind him, along with several crashes, but it was quiet ahead. Grunting with the effort, Wulf pressed his shoulder against the stone and lifted it to the side, stepping out into the cemetery.

No wonder nobody was around; even for a ghost, this place was creepy. No one knew where the mindless skeleton warriors in Pariah's army came from. Some said they were what _ghosts_ became in death, if ghosts could truly die. Others said they were raised by the Ghost King's awesome power. Whatever the answer, any ghost old enough to remember the Great War avoided these vast burial sites, and those that were not still stayed away, afraid of anything that could cow their older and more powerful brothers. Which of course made it the perfect place for an escape hatch. Wulf nodded approvingly. A flash of his claws later, and the gravesite was once again empty.

The ghost popped into the human world, sun bright in his eyes. Wincing against the pain of the sudden light change, Wulf quickly scanned his surroundings. He was on the side of a highway, heading north and south. Not ideal, but better than nothing at all. Pulling up his hood to hide his animalistic features, the lupine ghost jogged over to the highway and stuck out his thumb. Eventually, a large rig pulled to the side of the road, and the driver motioned for him to hop up.

"I didn't know there were still hitchhikers around." The driver said conversationally as he took a seat. "But given the price of gas, I'm not too surprised." Without saying a word, Wulf dropped several ones on the dash. The man smiled appreciatively. "Where you headin?"

"Amity Park." He growled.

"Business or pleasure?" His host asked curiously as he slipped the money into his pocket and pulled back onto the road.

"Friends."

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Jazz yawned and sat up in bed. As she did every morning, the mature responsible young woman counted off the chores she had to do today after she got back from class. Groceries were stocked for the month, bills went out last week, and this was her 'lazy' week for house stuff.

"Mew."

Smiling despite her exasperation, Jazz picked up the hem of her covers. A pair of large green eyes looked back up at her curiously, and a small kitten wobbled uncertainly out on the bouncy mattress and rubbed against her arm. Jazz chuckled.

"When am I going to learn that _you _decide where you sleep?" She asked, only half joking. She'd bought a nice cat bed for her pet, but he insisted on slipping under the covers and sleeping in the bed. He was a stubborn, irritating little thing when he had a mind to be. Just like his namesake.

"Come on Phantom. Let's get you your breakfast."

Licking his lips, the kitten jumped to the floor from the bed – a long fall for an animal his size – and padded behind her to the small apartment's kitchen. Jazz hadn't planned on having a pet – too messy – but when she'd seen the black, white-pawed cat in the local pet store when shopping for school books, she'd gone absolutely nuts for him. The psychologist in her said she was lonely and missed her little brother too much, but the rest of her just liked his company.

Leaving Phantom with some soft kitten food and a small dish of milk, Jazz sat down behind her ancient laptop and logged on to her email, irritably pushing strands of hair from her face.

'_Jazz,_

_Missing you. Huh. Who would have thought? This is Danny, by the way. Look, I'm having some trouble with Dani, and when she called me 'meddling and overprotective', I immediately thought of you. Long story short, she has a boyfriend. Or a boy she likes anyway, I don't know if he likes her back. I'm worried about her, since she'll have to keep her secret, and she hasn't had a lot of time to learn how to be with other people. And I don't know this Kevin guy at all, so I don't know how much trouble he could get her in. Help?_

_I should go. I'm just getting over this monster cold and finally get to go to school. Huh. I want to go to school. Maybe I'm still sick. :D_

_Still happy to be your guinea pig,_

_Danny.'_

Jazz snorted and opened a new file. Guinea pig, indeed.

Nobody had been more surprised, or pleased, than her parents when Jazz officially decided to study parapsychology. She'd insisted she wanted to put the 'psychology' back in the field, unlike her trigger-happy parents, and that it was a booming field since the Fenton Portal became a published success. To tell the truth, she'd been planning on studying it for years, since her essay on ghost envy received such positive remarks from the review board at Stanford. But ever since, Danny had joked about all of her attempts to 'shrink' him, saying he was just some test subject to her.

Jazz grinned at the look of surprise (and pride, she suspected) on Danny's face when she'd told him she'd been granted full scholarship to the Stanford department of Parapsychology, to help build the foundations of ghost psychology and sociology. Mind back on the present, the oldest Fenton kid began a response.

'_Hey Danny!_

_Glad to hear from you. As for the overprotective bit, don't kid yourself. Remember Johnny? And Elliot? Well, to be fair, you _were_ right about those two, but that doesn't mean you're right all the time. It _does_ mean that you tend to stalk random guys that hit on your girl friends. At least meet the kid before you decide to hunt him down and blast him, okay? And try to give Dani some credit; she's not stupid. If nothing else, think of what she'll do to you if you attack her boyfriend for no good reason._

_Glad to hear you're feeling better. Mom and Dad told me you were sick. Do you think your ghost half affected whatever it was? Just clinical interest, of course. There's not much in the field of ectophysiology right now, and any thoughts on your part would be helpful. As for wanting to go to school, it sounds reasonable enough to me. ;)_

_I got a new pet. He reminds me a lot of you; stubborn, irritating, clumsy, stuff like that. I'll send you guys some pictures of him some time. If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a message. You can always get free advice from your smart, wise, beautiful, fabulous older sister.'_

Grinning, she hit the send button and headed off for a quick morning shower, Phantom waddling on his short legs at her heels all the way to the door. Scratching the chubby little fur-ball once so he didn't feel abandoned, she stepped in and got ready for the day. Two lectures, a discussion, and a study group. They were supposed to be challenging, but she wasn't worried. These were ghost courses. And she was a Fenton.

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Kevin pulled the pen cap out of his mouth. Man, he was nervous. _Why was he so nervous_? It was no big deal; he wasn't that good at Biology, so he'd asked the best student in class to tutor him.

Still, he _hated_ feeling this stupid. Even if his tutor _was_ kinda…

"K-Kevin?" Cute.

"Huh?" He asked, whipping his head around. Dani had just arrived in the library, carrying a textbook and some flash cards. Wait, was that makeup?

She dropped her books, flushing. She did drop stuff a lot. But a guy who answered his name with a slack-jawed 'huh' probably shouldn't criticize.

"Oops. Sorry." She turned a bit red.

"No big deal." He answered quickly, moving to help pick up the books. His hand landed on hers by mistake, and she must have moved away, because a second later, his hand slapped against the top of the book. Dani pulled back her hand quickly, looking worried. So he…creeped her out or something? She probably thought he was a spazz. A stupid spazz. Great.

Within a minute, the two of them were sitting at a table by the window, the books stacked to the side.

"So…what do you need help with?" Dani finally asked, looking down at the stack of flash cards.

"Everything." He admitted morosely. "I was fine when we started class, but then when we jumped right into body systems…it was just too fast."

"Yeah." Dani agreed, nodding. "I'd probably be lost too, if Mr. and Mrs. Fenton weren't so into science and stuff."

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?" Kevin asked, confused. "You don't call them Mom and Dad?" Dani flushed.

"I'm sort of…adopted. I mean, I'm a _Fenton_, but they're not actually my mom and dad."

"Oh." Kevin answered, confused.

"I'm their niece. My parents…it's complicated." She finally answered. Kevin nodded. He had _no_ idea what she was talking about, but whatever. Her family, her business.

"So, allergies?" He asked hesitantly. Dani brightened.

"Cool. I actually know some stuff about reactions. I…what?" She asked, noticing his glance pass over the door for at least the fifth time in the last few minutes.

"Someone's at the door. Staring at us." He confided, perturbed. To his surprise, Dani tensed considerably, as if she was expecting serious trouble. Then her eyes caught whoever it was, and she seemed to relax, even if she looked a lot angrier.

"Danny." She growled.

"Who?" Did she just say her name?

"My cousin." She said shortly. "He gets all weird when any girl he knows spends time alone with a guy. Don't worry, I'll handle it." Getting up slowly and deliberately, she marched across the library, practically sending off waves of rage.

"Better you than me." Kevin mumbled. That guy had almost a foot on him, and clearly worked out. Kevin had his pride, but he wanted to live. His jaw dropped as he watched Dani burst through the library doors and slug him in the arm. Holy crap!

"You jerk!" Dani shouted. "If you want to meet Kevin, you don't have to _spy_ on us, you" The door shut, and her words became too fuzzy to hear properly. Kevin watched, nonplussed, as she continued to tear into her cousin. A good minute later, she marched back into the library, leaving Danny apparently frozen in place, and shot him an apologetic look.

"He wants to meet you." She said hesitantly. Kevin quirked an eyebrow. "It's no big deal; Danny just has this weird 1950's 'protect the girl' mentality. If I weren't related to him, I'd probably think it was cute or something, but right now it's kind of annoying. Anyway, do you want to come with me and his friends to the Nasty Burger? We could have something to eat, and study afterward. _Without_ big brother."

Kevin hesitated. He wasn't that big on crowds. Besides, her cousin looked kind of like a typical jock, and he'd already seen two friends of his shoved in lockers this year. He didn't need to join them. Catching his hesitation, Dani sighed and started shuffling through the cards. Darn it! Even not aimed at him, that abandoned puppy look of hers was powerful stuff!

"Alright." He said, hardly believing it.

"Really?" Dani asked, incredulous. He nodded quickly. Dani sent her cousin a firm nod, which he returned before walking off. Great. Lunch with football goons.

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Tucker still hadn't stopped laughing. Valerie scowled over at him while Kevin sat uncertainly across from the four strange upperclassmen with Dani.

"It's not that funny, Tuck." He gulped, nodding.

"Yeah it is. He thought…we…were…ahaha!" He snorted, finally managing to calm down enough to start into his burger. "Dude, we're probably the biggest losers in our grade."

"Thanks Tuck." Sam said sarcastically. "That really made me feel special right there." Tucker shrugged.

"Why would we hang out with guys like Dash?" Val asked. "Him and his friends are jerks; they've given us static since year one." Kevin shrugged.

"I guess he just looked like the type." He explained, gesturing at Danny.

Danny practically choked on his French fries.

"Danny?" Dani asked, amused. Kevin nodded.

"Big, scary looking, staring at me through the library window…sounds right to me." Danny frowned. Kevin _was_ a bit on the small side; barely taller than Dani, who was midsized for a girl at best. So from his perspective, he probably went up a long way. But _scary looking_?

Sam pursed her lips, noting her boyfriend's expression. "So, what are you into?" She asked conversationally, more to break the tension than anything else.

"I play the saxophone. I wanted to learn drums – way cooler – but my parents thought I'd turn into a rock punk or something. I'm okay, I guess. I'm not great at school, but some of the new classes are fun. Like 'ghost awareness'. All we do is watch old news runs of ghost fights."

"So you're learning about ghosts?" Tucker asked, amused. "What do you think of Phantom?" Danny rolled his eyes, and visibly fought off an overwhelming desire to smash his head on the tabletop. Tucker did this _way_ too much to random people; though to be fair, Danny had started it when he questioned Valerie.

Kevin shrugged. "He's okay, I guess. My little brother met him two years ago at Christmas, and won't shut up about it. It's kind of annoying. To tell you the truth, I wish that girl would get more air time." Dani perked up.

"That new Phantom girl? The one that doesn't show up very often?" Kevin shook his head.

"Nah. I mean Red Huntress." He clarified, eyes lighting up. Now Tucker choked on some fries. "I mean, the new ghost is cool and all, but with the outfit, it's like she's some sort of Phantom fan girl or something. Huntress has her own style." Dani's eyes lit up.

"Er, maybe you should give that Phantom girl a chance." Val suggested, smiling hesitantly. "I've seen her moves; she's pretty good."

"But you have to admit Huntress is awesome." Kevin argued. Dani's eyes narrowed. Val sputtered helplessly, and Tucker seemed to be on the verge of hysterical collapse.

"Um, well, I, yeah." She said, shrugging. "I think Red Huntress is pretty cool."

"Excuse me a moment, Kevin." Dani interrupted in a cool, sweet voice. Tossing her drink – which had frozen solid – in the trash, she grabbed Val by the wrist. "Could we go talk for a second?" She asked. Val shrugged; looking resigned, and followed her pull. The two of them quickly marched off.

"What's with them?" Kevin asked, confused.

"No idea." Tucker said, fighting down a grin. "But I'm gonna go see what's up." Carefully checking his PDA battery, he ran off after the retreating pair. Danny shifted uncomfortably, seeming lost in thought. After a moment studying his face, Sam edged off as well.

"I think I'll go make sure they don't hurt Tucker for spying on them." She said simply.

The two remaining guys sat in silence for a while. Not even remotely pleased with his afternoon, Kevin moodily chewed on the half-burnt fry dregs.

"Scary looking?" His eyes shot up. Danny was looking over at him with a strange expression. Not threatening, more…worried?

"I scared you?" He asked again. Kevin shrugged, not really sure how to answer that. To tell the truth, he hadn't been _afraid_, really. The guy just _looked_ scary. He was staring at him through a window, for crying out loud! But how do you explain that?

"Sorry." _That_ was unexpected. Danny seemed really uncomfortable. Huh. Well Dani _said_ he was okay, just overprotective. Still, she was family. It was nice to hear proof, especially since he was alone at a table with him!

"I'm not some sort of bully, or…anything like that." Danny said. He seemed to really want Kevin to believe him. He'd just _met _the guy; if he was wrong, it wasn't that big of a deal. He couldn't figure out why this was so important to the guy. But Danny kept going.

"I was just worried about Dani. She's been hurt a lot, and I didn't know you, and…" He shrugged helplessly. "I'd never hurt you. Or try and beat you up. Heck, freshman year, I think I set the record for time inside lockers. I don't want to be like that." Kevin raised an eyebrow. Who'd be dumb enough to bully this guy? And why would he take it? Would he even fit in a locker?

"Look, it's no big deal." Kevin answered. "Your cousin's cool. She's really smart, even if she is kind of clumsy." Danny chuckled. He shrugged. "I don't plan on trying to hurt her or anything. I mean, I think we could be good friends." Danny quirked an eyebrow.

"That's not what I"-

"Hey." Val said breathlessly, sitting down.

"Where's Dani?" Danny asked, eyebrows meeting in concern.

"Oh, she…felt like some soup." Val answered vaguely. What?

"Ah." Danny answered shortly, shooting a glance towards Kevin. "Was that necessary?"

"Not at first, but she got pretty mad. The survival of at least five square blocks seemed to depend on it." She answered dryly. Then she realized Kevin was still there. "Oh! Hi! Yeah, um, Dani will meet you back at the school in fifteen minutes if that's okay. She just went home quick for some…chicken broth? She wasn't hungry for anything else. Hehe."

"Oookaaay." Kevin answered slowly. Weird. "I should probably head back then. Later."

"He seemed nice." Val commented as he took off. Danny shrugged. "Oh come on. Don't let what he said bother you. So you take after your dad and get regular workouts. At least Dash left you alone all day."

"Yeah, but…" Danny sighed. "I don't know. It's just weird, I guess." Val nodded sympathetically as Tucker and Sam jogged up. Tucker was busy filtering through photos on his PDA.

"That was awesome." Sam snorted.

"Someday you're going to get yourself into _so_ much trouble with"-

Blue mist shot out of Danny's mouth.

"Great." He mumbled. "Another 'workout'." Ignoring Sam and Tucker's confused looks; he dove under the table, transformed, and flew through the ceiling. An ecto-charged fist powered down as a look of shock crossed his face, followed by a grin.

"Wulf!"


	4. A Shocking Discovery

Hi.

Yup, another chapter. This one gave me almost no trouble at all (unlike the last two), so it is now up for your viewing pleasure (I hope).

The title is once again apt, as various characters (and readers) will be shocked. Promise!

Love and adoration to all who review! Thanks to hermie-the-frog, Epona Harper, Nikky Phantom of the Opera, The Fluff Ghost, purpledog100, egyptianqueen777, 'Quacked Lurker', Diamond Raider, Fan-Fic-CC27, Esme Kali Phantom, Unrealistic, acosta parez jose ramiro, ChatterPuncher, Meagainsttheworld, fan-girls2.0, Adran06, cariadiorarua, cordria, Nonasuki-chan, Queen S of Randomness 016, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii, bluename, AirGirl Phantom (THREE TIMES! WOOT!), viciousberries (vicious how?), chaotic.calm (enjoy your vacation), and Warrior of Winds.

Right. I'm off to write chapter 5 now. It's Saturday at last! In the story! A date with Tuck and Val, one-sided Damon/Hoss moments (I hope), The late arrival of Writer and Ember, some Danny/Sam goopy goo, light Dani/Kevin, and perhaps some intense stuff with Danny reacting to the 'scary' comment. Still working on that one psychologically speaking. Also, that little cliffie on this one will need expanding, so I'm gonna go type till my fingers bleed. Ciao!

HiddenAuthor

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A Shocking Discovery

"He got away." Walker growled. Vlad shrugged, smiling.

"That's not my problem, Walker. I gave you an edge on him, and you let him go. Now you owe me."

"No, I don't think you understand the situation, Masters." Walker said, floating away towards the swirling ghost portal. "I didn't get what I wanted. And I don't like you. That's where we stand. Now give me one good reason I should even _consider_ doing what you want me to." Vlad's look darkened.

"Because if you don't, I'll…"

"You'll…what?" Walker asked, narrowing his eyes and flying rapidly towards the billionaire. Out of instinct, Vlad's hand shot up to project an energy beam. The warden ghost grabbed it roughly and pulled him close.

"You don't get it, do you? You're _human_. I have hundreds of ghosts on the loose I don't hate nearly as much as I hate you and I'll capture each and every one. But _you_…" He threw the man back in disgust and floated away. "You aren't worth my time."

"Walker!" Vlad shouted. "Get back here!" The ghost didn't slow in the least.

"Call me when you have something to offer, Masters."

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Danny's expression soon fell as Wulf did not return the grin.

"Uh…whatso uppo?" Danny asked awkwardly, praying his hairy friend could figure it out. Wulf managed a short chuckle at that.

"I am speaking English now. So-so." Danny brightened.

"That's great!" He exclaimed. "That'll make things so much easier, and…" The wolf ghost held up a hand.

"Speak more slow. Not here. We need a place for hiding." Danny nodded quickly, and dove through the Nasty Burger rooftop. A few moments later, he came back up and motioned for Wulf to follow.

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"Alright, what's up?" Danny asked.

The two were in Danny's lair, in a small living room area, complete with basic furniture. With their house destroyed, his family had found the mazelike paths of his thankfully spared lair excellent – and free – shelter. All it took was a quick trip to Clockwork's to find out how to move his door. And his ability to decide how much gravity was where helped his dad get around while he was recovering. After they moved out into their rebuilt home, they'd left some stuff behind. Danny liked it; it was great for talking about evil plots and ghost invasions.

Wulf looked up at the seemingly endless crossings of floating stone paths and stairs between them and the starry night sky, confused. Danny bit back a laugh.

"Why are you in trouble?" He clarified.

"Walker is chasing me." The half ghost's face darkened.

"I thought you were cleared." He stated angrily. "That creep has _no right _to chase down…"

"He has right. I am guilty." Danny paused mid-rant.

"Huh?"

"I am guilty." Danny blinked for a few moments and fell back in his seat, sighing.

"Alright, Wulf. I'm going to need the whole story. Starting with what you did. I like you, but if you're using me to hide when you really did something wrong…"

"Ah." Wulf nodded understandingly. "Eh, keeping human things in Ghost Zone. Moving them around." Danny raised an eyebrow.

"What things?"

"These things." Wulf pulled out a wad of bills. Danny's eyes widened.

"_Money_? Wulf, what's going on here? Where did you get this, and _why_ are you keeping money?" His friend snorted.

"Human money is handy for ghosts also. Skulktech makes much money from Masters, and others. Mine friends need to make money for our plan."

"You're not stealing it right?" Danny asked warily. Wulf shook his head quickly.

"No. We sell things to humans in disguise, or do shows."

"Oh." Danny paused. "What plan?" Wulf hesitated. "Look Wulf, I still don't know if I should help. Walker won't let me keep you here without a fight, and if what you're doing isn't legit…"

"Yes, okay." Wulf interrupted, holding up his hand. "I will explain."

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Dani glared moodily at Valerie as the older huntress ejected her from the Fenton Thermos. Val tensed. Her bedroom was private enough during the day, but she didn't want her stuff blown up!

"Look Dani, I'm sorry about what Kevin said, but I can't help it if he's a Huntress fan. I like _Tucker_. I don't need to steal a guy two years younger than me that I don't really know. So please stop trying to kill me." The ghost girl kept her glare for a few seconds, but seemed to deflate.

"Teach me?" She asked quietly. Val cocked an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Teach me." Dani said. "I don't just want to be some Danny Phantom copy. Teach me what you know about ghost hunting."

"So you can be a Huntress copy?" Val asked quietly. Dani dropped down on the bed and punched the windowsill furiously.

"I can't win, can I?" She asked angrily. "What am I _supposed _to do?" Val smiled hesitantly and joined her on the end of the bed.

"Be yourself." She answered simply. "I can tell you like Kevin, and I think he might like you back. Once or twice I saw that vacant look on his face, and trust me; he wasn't thinking about Red Huntress." Dani blushed. "Don't change just for some boy, Dani. Before I started ghost hunting, I had to act like the perfect, icy princess. I was popular; I could have any boy I wanted. And I was completely miserable. Give Kevin a shot at the _real_ Dani Fenton. Even if it doesn't work out, being true to you is more important than any crush."

"But I _can't_ show him everything. What about my ghost powers?"

"I said Dani _Fenton_. It may have taken a stubborn jerk like me a few years to figure it out, but you're more than some ghost, Dani. You have a lot to offer just as a person. I promise."

"But why did he have to be into _you_?" Dani asked helplessly, with a small smile on her face. Val shrugged, grinning.

"How can he help himself? Just look at me." She answered in a faux haughty attitude, throwing her hair back over her head. The two of them laughed a little, and Dani absently wiped her face off.

"Thanks Valerie." The huntress grinned.

"Don't thank me yet. You just ruined your makeup and I told Kevin you'd meet him in five minutes." Dani's eyes widened in dismay. Val smiled. "Come on." She offered, leading Dani to the restroom. "I probably have something in here that would work for you. Rule number two; tough girls can look pretty too."

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Ember and GhostWriter sat silently in the lower level of his vast library.

"Do you think Wulf is okay?" Ember asked quietly. Writer shrugged, looking troubled, and winced as he moved his right arm.

Walker and his troops had stormed into his lair bare seconds after he clicked his secret door shut. GhostWriter allowed them full access to his lair, hoping they would be satisfied and leave. But they'd followed Wulf across half the ghost zone and had seen him enter the vast library. Despite Writer's loud protests that he had sent Wulf away when he heard he was on the run, the troops had immediately ransacked half of his home.

In the end, it was a small sound that did it. Paper ripping. Writer didn't remember much after that point, but had woken up with his head in Ember's lap on the floor of his lair. As long as he stayed inside, Walker couldn't arrest him for what his girlfriend assured him was a _very_ violent protest to damaging his books. But troops surrounded his home, and he couldn't risk leaving by the secret exit until Bullet was done searching the surrounding area for Wulf. They were trapped.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "I agree with the plan we put together, but…" He shrugged again. "I don't really know Danny. The one time I met him, he acted like a wicked, impulsive, destructive child. I can hope he's matured somewhat by now, but I only have your word and Wulf's on that. And I remember what his potential future did." Writer sighed. "I know it would have been dangerous, but I wish I'd gone to see him before. At least I'd feel better about sending Wulf to hide with him."

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Tucker rolled his eyes and moodily sipped on his shake.

"And I couldn't go with Valerie _why_?" Sam raised her eyebrow.

"Because Dani is probably going to go nuclear. Because she asked you to stay here. And because Danny said he might be a while, and I'm _not_ waiting here for him alone." Tucker snorted. "What? The 'biggest losers at Casper High' should stick together."

"You know what I meant!" Tucker retorted. "Why would we want to hang out with those goons anyway?" Sam smirked.

"What, not crushing on Paulina anymore?"

"Nope. Too scared of Val." Sam laughed. Tucker grinned. "Seriously, though. Val's tough, funny, pretty…why would I mess that up for some pretty face?" He shrugged. "To tell the truth, I still don't know why she said 'yes' to me anyway."

"How could she resist?" Sam teased, running a finger slowly along Tucker's forearm. "Just look at you." The two of them laughed, and ordered more shakes.

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"Ghosts have always lived alone in the ghost zone," Wulf began, "or created haunts in the human world. Good ghosts would stay alone, with no way to live for long with humans, and too much fear for them to be safe. But you are changing this."

"Huh?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"You prove that not all ghosts are bad; people here are not as afraid. So mine friends wish to create homes here too. To be with humans again." Danny sputtered for a second. This was new.

"Uh…not sure people would be cool with that." He cautioned.

"We would hide." Wulf explained. "For a while, from ghosts and humans. We only want to buy the homes now."

"That's it?" Danny deadpanned. Wulf nodded. "So why the secrecy?"

"The council has been scared of you for a long time. They worry that with your power, you might try to be ghost king, and start another Great War. But Amity, your haunt, is the only place where we could go. If they found out other ghosts were coming to you…" Danny's eyes widened.

"Oh."

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Maddie put down the soldering gun and turned towards her husband.

"Jack, have you seen Danny?" Jack nodded absently while working on his own laser device.

"Mm-hmm. He went into his lair with some sort of giant hairy monster."

"Oh. Do you know if the, uh, monster is staying for dinner?"

"Beats me. It looked like it was in a hurry; it might just leave." Sighing, Maddie finished her last circuit and picked up a new board.

"Jack?"

"Hm?"

"When did talks like this become normal?"

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"So I turned off the hot water!" Dani shouted gleefully. Kevin was gasping for air. To their side, a small pile of books lay forgotten.

"How can you get away with all that?" He asked, laughing. "If my little brother tried half that stuff to me, I'd have strung him up by the toenails." Dani raised an eyebrow. "It's, uh, something my grandpa says." He said sheepishly. She smiled.

"Aw, Danny's a big pushover." She said airily. "I mean, yeah, he gets back at me sometimes, but mostly he tries to look out for me. Besides, if he ever got on my nerves, I think I could take him." Kevin snorted good-naturedly.

"So you really like Huntress?" She asked. Well _that_ came out of nowhere.

"Huh? I guess." He shrugged, at a loss. Where was this coming from? "She's tough, in-your-face, and she works hard to protect the city. _And_ she does it without all those crazy ghost tricks Phantom can do."

"Wait, so just because Phantom can use ghost powers, he's a wimp?" Dani asked, glaring. Kevin quickly threw his hand up.

"No, no! I'm just saying she has to try a lot harder then him. That's all. Jeez, what's with the ghost talk?" Dani blushed.

"Sorry. I'm a Fenton; we tend to be a bit…obsessed." Kevin smiled.

"Eh, whatever. It's not like it took that long. It's only…" His eyes widened. "Oh my gosh! It's almost eight thirty! I gotta go!"

"Me too!" Dani said, eyes wide, as she grabbed her books. "I'm so sorry we didn't review more."

"What about tomorrow?" Kevin asked. Dani froze.

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow. Saturday? You? Me? Books?" Dani flushed, but nodded.

"Yeah. Sure. Meet me at the library?"

"How about the Nasty Burger?" Kevin asked. "My dad can't cook at all, and if I want to live till Monday, I'll need some food. Noon?"

"Sure." Dani said, grinning as she rushed out the door. "It's a date." Kevin froze in place for several long moments, completely missing the black and white streak that passed behind him.

"A date?"

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They were on the beach. It was the middle of summer, and Sam was safely hidden from the sun under a large black umbrella. Danny was on the towel to her left, picking small purple grapes from a bunch and dropping them into her mouth.

"Sam?" He asked affectionately. His dark hair hung in his face, still wet from his swim. She smiled.

"Sam?"

"SAM?"

Her eyes snapped open. Danny was two inches in front of her face, green eyes locked on her face.

"Gah!" She tensed, sitting up sharply and banging her head on his. Wincing, he backed up a step.

"…Ow!" He groaned, holding his forehead. "Every time! Someone wakes me up, I wake someone else up; I _always_ get hit in the head!"

"Give me a good reason for you waking me up," Sam growled, wincing, "or I'll hit you again."

Rolling his eyes, Danny walked through the wall, and came back with Wulf. Sam stared for a second. Danny laughed.

"You did say that next time the inter-dimensional fugitive was staying at your house."

"And ah, why can't he stay with you?" Sam asked, eyeing the giant furry creature. Danny winced, rubbing his neck.

"Uh, technically if I keep him in my house or anything, _I'm_ harboring a fugitive. But Wulf here," he finished, pulling the ghost to his side, "says I can't get in trouble if _you're_ the one keeping him. And you're a human, so Walker can't punish you either."

"Oh." Sam said weakly. "Um, we have a big attic. He should be okay up there." Danny nodded, and gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks Sam." He said quickly, and pulled Wulf up through the ceiling. Sam groaned, falling back on her pillow.

"Yeah, yeah. Next time bring grapes."

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Danny looked around the attic approvingly. Lots and lots of stuff. How had the Mansons grabbed this much extra junk in a few months? He shrugged. Maybe this part of the house survived the explosion. Breaking away from his thoughts, he saw Wulf glancing around with the same look of approval. They could see a little _too_ well though. Ghost energy; hopefully nobody would see the extra light, as little as it was, up here and check on it.

"This will do." His friend said, wandering into a corner and throwing himself against the floor.

"Should I go talk to Writer or Ember?" Danny asked, changing back to his human form to give off less light. Wulf shook his head.

"No. They will come later. It is all planned ahead; they will leave when it is safe, and come here to you. We will have to wait." The ghost boy nodded. Wulf smiled.

"You look well. A fighter. It is good for you to protect your friends like this." Danny shrugged, slightly red. "Older, too."

"It's been two years. Humans age more than ghosts do." Danny answered, rubbing his neck. "I'm just glad nobody in town figured out that Phantom and Fenton _always_ look the same. It's kind of obvious." Wulf shook his head.

"Not what I meant. You look more serious. You will try hard to protect us, I think, now that you know we do nothing wrong." The furry ghost shrugged. "Maybe it is the hair only. It is a good look for you." Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Eh?" Wulf shrugged again and curled up to sleep. Weird. He had the same haircut.

Shrugging, Danny focused and let as much energy as he could flow through his human body. It was still a weird sensation, even after all this time. You tend to associate energy and heat, but ectoplasm is never hot, even when it burns. It's _cold_. Danny shuddered slightly and opened his eyes. He was in his room.

"Great." He muttered. "So now I'm harboring ghost fugitives. The Council must _really_ love me." Groaning, he threw himself onto his bed and shut his eyes. He'd figure out what to do tomorrow. After he apologized to Sam for waking her up early. And for leaving her at the Nasty Burger. And for waking her up again. And for dropping off a hairy inter-dimensional criminal at her house.

As Danny slept, the moon rose, and its light filled his bedroom through the window. As used to the moon as he was, Danny didn't react at all, though something was slightly different this night. As the moon shone in through the window, some of its rays were reflected.

Off of several tiny, individual white hairs on top of Danny's head.


	5. A Sad Truth

O.o

This is without a doubt the longest chapter I have ever written in the history of all existance. Sweet heavens above. But it is all for you, and I found my ideal stopping point. SO MUCH HAPPENS ON SATURDAY!!! WOW!!!

Anywho, much love and adoration to those of a reviewing persuasion. These include but are not necessarily limited to Unrealistic, Epona Harper, AnimeFan101, Nobody Famous, Nikky Phantom of the Opera, The Fluff Ghost, Nonasuki-chan, cordria, Esme Kali Phantom, Adran06, "Quacked Lurker", bluename (THANK YOU FOR THE PIC), Fan-Fic-CC27, magpie8spook, Queen S of Randomness 016, egyptianqueen777, hermie-the-frog, Meagainsttheworld, Arabic Blessing, Diamond Raider, lightanddarklove, AirGirl Phantom, viciousberries, Sasia93, Rob Phantom, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii, TaylorTheWeird, cariadiorarua, and acosta perez jose ramiro. You guys ROCK!

WARNING 1: I done used much sciency talk this time. Be prepared. I can elaborate where necessary, just ask.

WARNING 2: This is called "A Sad Truth" for a few reasons, but they ARE sad. Danny is having some identity issues, which get worse in this one. Dani's sad, the bad guys are regrouping, and more stress is piling on. This is not a "happy" chappie like the last two.

That is all,

HiddenAuthor

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A Sad Truth

"I'm late!" Tucker shouted, eyes wide, diving headfirst into a small mountain of cloths at the foot of his bed. Sure, he had drawers and a closet, but those were for electronics parts. One must prioritize. Socks and berets flew across the room, littering the floor until he came back later to rake them back into a pile. Finding a suitable – and clean – shirt, he tore off down the upstairs hall of his house and launched himself into the bathroom.

"Tucker?" Mrs. Foley called up from downstairs. "What are you up to today?"

"Date." He called down.

"Those power cells you ordered came in yesterday. And they said something about a special on solid state lasers."

"Thanks mom. I'll call them later."

"What are you building with those, anyway?" Tucker froze.

"Um…a new computer?" He tried, giving himself a quick spray of Hatchet.

"Uh-huh. And what about the lasers?"

"Those were a gift for Mr. Gray!" He shouted, near panic, as he started downstairs. He really should tell his parents he was building ghost weapons. Hunting…not so much. But they might let him keep _building_ the stuff, and…he'd tell them about the rest later. In the meantime, he did _not_ need this kind of stress.

"Where's dad?" He asked, sitting down and grabbing some eggs and sausage.

"Working overtime." His mother sighed. "We'd better get a new mayor soon; he's picking up way too much of the slack downtown."

"Mm-hmm." Tucker agreed absently, swallowing as much food at once as he could.

"In a hurry?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. Tucker nodded, gulping.

"Told ya. Date." He managed. And he didn't want to answer more laser-based questions. "I'm meeting Val over at Tower 1." Mrs. Foley frowned.

"I'm not sure if I like you working with all of that ghost stuff, Tucker." His mother cautioned. "It's so dangerous. And I know you've met with Phantom out there with Mr. Gray. He says he's good, but…how well do any of us really know him?"

"Oh, I think I know him pretty well." Tucker said absently as he packed a few supplies. "Later mom!"

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'_Dear Jazz,_

_Oops. Your warning showed up a bit late. Maybe I should have called. On a totally unrelated note, Dani has a very twisted imagination. When she caught me spying on her and Kevin yesterday, she made me this promise involving my organs and a dull rusty spoon. I'm not sure it was physically possible, but it sure did slow me down for a second._

_But that's not why I'm writing. Please _please_ don't go all shrink on me here; I just really need to talk. I'd go to mom (or better, dad) with this, but it's too awkward right now._

_Yesterday was my first day back at school. But it was really weird for me. I mean, I've always been really shrimpy for my age. Or at least, that's how Dash put it. But if I'm not the tallest guy in class this year, I'm a very close second. And I know that even though I don't go to gyms or something, you can sort of tell I get exercise. The whole day felt kind of off to me, but it wasn't until Kevin talked to me that I figured out why. He said I scared him when he saw me staring at him through the library window. (Huh, that _is_ kind of creepy.) I believe his words were 'big and scary looking'. Don't get me wrong, Kevin is a small guy, even for his age. But still, people _did_ treat me different._

_I don't know. I've always figured if people ever found out my secret, I'd be treated differently. But I never thought about it happening over something as stupid as getting taller. Dash is leaving me alone, nobody's making fun of me, and I think Paulina _flirted_ with me. I'm just glad Sam wasn't around. For Paulina's sake _and_ mine._

_I know this probably doesn't sound so bad to you. And I guess it's not. And it's not that I'm freaking out about looking more like that future me; I've had a year to deal with that, and it makes sense that I would, since he _was_ me, sort of. I just feel weird about it. People are starting to respect me a lot as Phantom, but as Fenton…it's uncomfortable. Someone's always looked down on me for something before. And I haven't _done_ anything to change that._

_I'm not looking for a lecture or some book to look up. I just want some advice. Please. And don't worry, Kevin and I are cool now, I think. We talked once, at least. He has a date with Dani tomorrow. Or at least that's what she said. Huh, I didn't think he'd make a move this soon; he seemed more like he wanted to be friends. Whatever. Talk to Dani about that; you have her email. Right now, I'm a bit more worried about me. Later.'_

Jazz frowned at the letter for a few minutes, absently scratching Phantom on the head. Sighing, she set the cat down on the floor and dropped her Danny Phantom plushy a few feet away. As the small black cat went nuts chasing and whacking the thing, Jazz returned her attention to the screen and brought up the reply window.

'_Danny,_

_I'm sorry, but I really don't know what to say. I know, sign of the apocalypse, blah blah. But I've always taken after mom, and after we met that evil future you it was obvious you were more dad's size. So I don't have much experience to draw on here. Hey, at least you're not as…robust…as dad is._

_All I can offer is that even if people are treating you differently for something stupid, at least you'll be under less stress at school. Besides, you've been able to destroy Dash for years. Not that you would! The fact that it's obvious now doesn't change that. All this means is you don't have to put up with his garbage and take all of that static. As for the weird feeling…it's natural. Things _have_ changed. You'll get used to it eventually. In the meantime, I'm always here. Keep in touch, and try to talk with mom and dad later if you think you need to. Here's something to cheer you up! (Check the attachment.)_

With a small smile, Jazz quickly attached the picture of Phantom attacking the plushy. He liked to go for the eyes for some reason; maybe it was the green color. She felt oddly guilty. She'd been so focused on Danny's unique ghost problems lately; she'd forgotten he'd have human problems to work out, too. Still, normal teen problems were things her parents could handle. She was sure Danny would talk to them eventually; he was just used to coming to her first.

Sighing, Jazz hit 'send' and logged off. She could only imagine what Danny was doing right now. Probably sitting up in bed, staring at that stupid mirror again and trying to convince mom and dad that everything was fine.

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Danny snored loudly, rolling onto his side and pulling his pillow over his head to block the sun. A loud knock on the door went unanswered.

"Danny!" Snore.

"Danny!" Snore. Drool.

"Danny, if you don't answer in three seconds, I swear I'm freezing your ectoplasmic butt to the ceiling!"

Dani stormed through the door, phone in hand, and gave her cousin a shove. He snorted.

"Feel my hybrid phantom vengeance." He muttered, turning away from her pokes. "Beware." Dani raised an eyebrow, and slugged him on the arm. His eyes shot open.

"WHAT!" He shouted. "I'm up!" Dani rolled her eyes.

"Your girlfriend's on the phone." She answered shortly, shoving the phone into his chest and starting back to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date to get to."

"That's not till noon." He groaned, rubbing his eyes as he sat up and grabbing the phone.

"It's quarter till, Rip Van Winkle." She answered drily.

"Oh my gosh!" Danny said, eyes wide, and pulled the phone to his ear as Dani took off.

"Hey Sam. Yeah, sorry for sleeping in so much. Yes, _and_ for waking you up twice yesterday. _And _for dumping Wulf on you. Uhuh…_and _for…wait! I never took you to the Skulk and Lurk for the Sunlight Sanctuary Slow Dance. Oh!" He blushed, rubbing his neck. "That's what we're doing _today_. Yeah, sounds good. An hour? Okay."

Groaning, Danny stretched and dropped the phone on his bedside table. After a short yawn, he grabbed a black t-shirt and his silver ghost necklace and headed for the bathroom. A cold shower later, and he was feeling much more awake. Shrugging on the shirt, he ran a wet comb through his hair and checked his reflection.

"AHHHH!"

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S sighed and set down his latest report. It seemed Phantom had shown up again, along with a strange wolf-like ghost of unknown power and origin. Said furry beast had been spotted flying into Amity Park from the north and was followed all the way to the Nasty Burger, where Phantom apparently flew up through the roof to confront him. The two had flown off towards FentonWorks some time later.

"A friend of yours?" S asked the one low-quality photo his agent had managed to take of the pair. "You just love giving me headaches don't you?"

Phantom was…weird. That was probably the only word for it. First off, his physical appearance changed noticeably almost on a monthly basis. Most ghosts held the same form for years at a time, only changing when their personalities had sufficiently altered. Yet Phantom still seemed to act and behave as if his personality was stable and mostly unchanged. That, and his appearance changes were never extreme; they seemed gradual, almost natural. He seemed to have no problem working with humans or ghosts, provided he 'liked' them, if such a word was appropriate for a ghost. He showed a full, extremely developed range of emotion. He seemed to show no sense of territoriality over his haunt, except to keep out any dangerous creatures that tried to break in. And for some reason, he was impossible to track.

"Why the Nasty Burger?" S asked out loud.

The obvious explanation was that Phantom had tracked the wolf ghost's progress and teleported to him. But then why not appear _above_ the Nasty Burger, instead of inside? S was no pilot, but he knew that if you were expecting a fight in the air, the high ground was important. Yet Phantom had come up from _below_.

Had he already been in the fast food place? If so, then why? Ghosts could eat food if they wanted, but there was no proof that they had a genuine physical need for it. And all of the 'nutrition' Phantom required he picked up by resting in his lair. What would a ghost be doing in a human restaurant? Could he have been meeting someone?

"How many friends do you have? And are they all ghosts?"

Valerie Gray had been seen leaving the building. Damon was her father; Phantom had to have some sort of relationship with him. But why talk to the girl? Her father was a very accessible man, and he would certainly make time for his ghostly hero to drop by.

S groaned and grabbed another cup of coffee. This was just one more example of Phantom's odd behavior. Appearing in strange places, going out of his way to avoid hurting humans, even taking damage in the process. Seeming guilty about K…

The agent winced and grabbed his head. Where had _that_ come from? Again, he saw a blue flash of light, then nothing. But the feeling remained. Phantom _had_ felt guilty, like he hadn't meant for it to happen. S knew it, even if he couldn't remember. And it fit his behavior. Phantom seemed to genuinely care for humans.

Humans…

S hit his intercom. "Agent Delta, I want a message sent to all Amity Agents. Get me a file of every human regularly seen around Phantom. Ignore the Fentons for now; he lives with them, so that's obvious. But see who else you can dig up."

"Yes sir."

S sipped his coffee. Maybe Phantom's closeness to humans was a blessing in disguise. Sure, it made most parapsychological profiles completely useless for him, but if he was spending excessive time around someone…

"Maybe I'll figure you out yet, Phantom. At least I might get _some_ answers."

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"And I placed George Avert in charge of tower 20. His credentials show he's good at managing people." Officer Hoss finished. "That leaves three placements left by this weekend, and if you had any thoughts on the matter, sir…" Damon nodded absently, typing away. He froze, and looked up, a mildly surprised look on his face.

"Miss Hoss," he said quietly, "I think I just figured something out. Let me know if I'm right. I think I'll feel kind of stupid if I'm wrong, but…" Anne blushed, and set down her clipboard awkwardly.

"I'm sure you know what you're talking about, Mr. Gray." She said hesitantly. "Maybe…if you just told me?" Gray nodded.

"I just realized…" Anne leaned forward.

"If we want to run all of those towers now, we'll need more officers!"

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"OW!"

Tucker winced, shaking his burnt hand. On the table in front of him, a small plume of smoke rose from an incomplete ecto-weapon. Valerie shot him an amused glance.

"Watch it, O Mighty Warrior. I'd hate to have to fly you to the hospital." Curious, the huntress lifted up the strange component. "What are these, again?"

"Solid state laser components." Tucker answered. "Pass me the frequency modulation panel, would you?" Val tossed him the small part.

"A laser? But it looks so different from the usual ones." Tucker nodded.

"I know. I had this idea a while ago, from watching Danny's Wail attack and taking apart one of those trashed shield generators. Both of them use a weaker but longer blast than an ecto-beam, so overall the effect is much stronger, even if it takes more power."

"Okay…" Tucker chuckled.

"Sorry. Uh, most of your weapons use a tiny variation of the liquid state laser to give off a high-energy blast. Powerful, but you can't leave them on because they overheat. This solid number here won't give you the same energy, but it _can_ give off a continuous blast. And if I calibrate it right, it should pass harmlessly through Real Matter like the Fenton Ghost Shields can. You'll have a portable laser that acts like a weak Ghost Wail that won't hurt human stuff." Val stared.

"Oh. You think you can do that?" Tuck shrugged, picking up the gun again.

"I don't see why not. It's worth a try at least." Valerie smiled, and gave him a quick hug from behind.

"You're wasted at the school computer club." She said affectionately. Her boyfriend chuckled.

"Nah, I think I'm just spending too much time around Danny's parents." The two of them laughed.

"Say, after this, you wanna try a _normal_ date? Maybe dinner?" Val smiled.

"You read my mind, Sparky." She purred.

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Sam pounded on the FentonWorks door, scowling. Danny could only push her so far, and she'd been alone at the Skulk and Lurk for almost an hour! She was _so_ killing the rest of him.

Finally, she turned the knob and barged in. Loud whirring sounds were coming up from the lab. Suddenly concerned, Sam edged over to the stairs and headed down.

"I'm sorry. Danny can't go on his date right now. He needs to get hooked up to _another_ machine." Her boyfriend said dryly. He was lying on his back on the examination table, and there seemed to be at least ten different tubes and wires sticking to various places.

"Danny! What's going on?" Sam asked, rushing over to him. He sighed, and brushed his bangs back. All over his head, his normally black hair was mixed with a few strands of white. The Goth's eyes widened.

"Your hair!"

"I noticed." He grimaced. "Sorry about not calling; I got plugged in down here the second I showed my parents. And I wasn't really thinking that clearly."

"Sam?" Maddie asked, looking up from a wide array of samples at a far table. Jack nodded to her from beside his wife, and bent down to get back to work.

"What's going on?" She repeated, grabbing Danny's arm and looking at his parents. They both shrugged helplessly.

"We don't know. He seems completely healthy. He's still human. We even checked his DNA already; it hasn't changed. The only things we've found are that his cells are acting a little oddly and his hair is turning white."

"All part of the magical life cycle of the half-ghost, I guess." Danny said sarcastically.

"We don't know that, yet, Danny." Jack reprimanded.

"Why not?" Danny retorted. "Vlad's hair is white."

"Vlad's hair turned white at the start, from his exposure. This is different. _You're _different." Maddie asserted.

"You don't know tha…"

"Hold it!" Sam shouted. The others stopped and looked over at her.

"Could you explain the 'odd' part before you start arguing?" Danny motioned for her to come over.

"This," he said, pulling out one of the needles, "is odd."

Sam looked down at the small droplet of red blood. A moment later, the drop seemed to pull back into the wound. There was a brief green flash at the point, and the wound was gone.

"Oh." She said weakly.

"Yeah." He answered. "Handy, but not normal."

"Any ideas why?" His parents shrugged.

"We looked at that once under a microscope already. The cells didn't change in any noticeable way, but new cells just started…appearing where the wound was. And we know ghost energy was involved."

"That's it?" She asked.

"We're running his cells through a centrifuge over there, and plan to do some more complex readings." Maddie allowed. "If the cause is smaller than a DNA molecule, that's the only way we could find it. We can't think of anything else."

Sam frowned, and looked over at Danny, who seemed to be staring at the ceiling with a resigned expression.

"Rain check?" He laughed bitterly.

"If I don't lose control of my powers. Or blow up. Or melt." He promised, looking a bit sour. Sam forced a smile.

"Hey, could you go downtown and get me some hair dye?" Sam raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "Not like I'm not used to white hair. But I think it would be easier to carry around a giant sign with 'I'm a Ghost' written on it. I already look too much like Phantom, and until we fix this…"

"Oh. Right."

"And try and enjoy yourself for a few hours." He added. "I think this is gonna take a while. No reason we should both be bored." Sam paused, but finally nodded. He didn't want her to see him hooked up and experimented on.

"Okay." She said quietly. "Later."

"Later." He said, returning his gaze to the ceiling.

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"Hello, Amity Park. This is Tiffany Snow with a special report. I'm here with Amity Park resident Vlad Masters." Vlad smiled. "I didn't realize you had a home here in Amity Park, Mr. Masters."

"Oh, well I bought it some time ago, though I rarely visit. It's mostly a resting place after social affairs, and it can be so hard to get invitations sometimes." Tiffany laughed.

"Tell me about it. Especially after that fiasco with that insane employee of yours last Spring." Masters nodded sadly.

"It was most unfortunate what happened. That is why I have left the corporate world, at least for at time, to try and make amends. First, I would like to once again fully fund the tower project. Of course, given past events, I will leave it at Mr. Gray's good discretion to decide what personnel to hire."

"That's very generous, sir!" Tiffany gushed, smiling. Vlad allowed a smirk to cross his own face.

"Think nothing of it. I simply want to make up for all of the trouble. Ghosts are a serious problem in this city, and I want the people of Amity Park to know…I'm here for them."

"So will you be staying here?"

"Yes, Tiffany. I want to make sure things run smoothly. And because this is such an important investment, I want to make sure it stays in good hands, like Mr. Gray. I understand you are looking for a new mayor even now. Before I leave, I feel I should at least meet with whoever you choose. I trust that he will be capable."

"And, CUT!"

Tiffany's smile dropped into a brisk expression light a switch had gone off.

"Thank you for the interview, Mr. Masters. It will air at prime time tomorrow."

"It was a pleasure, Tiffany." He answered, shaking her hand. Her expression didn't change.

"Just out of curiosity, would you try telling me what's _really_ going on here?" Vlad's smug smile faltered.

"Excuse me?"

"You expect me to believe that you would give up corporate power and millions of dollars and expect nothing in return? I've followed your career for years, Masters. Your big news. And this doesn't add up." The billionaire shrugged.

"Maybe I've decided to give back to the world. To serve the people of this fair city." The reporter's eyebrow went up at that phrase.

"We'll be in touch." She said, giving him a card. "Whatever your next move is, call me when you're ready to announce it."

Vlad scowled as Miss Snow and her entourage took off.

"Unfortunately, my next move is in the Ghost Zone, and he's not cooperating." He growled. Still frowning, the wealthy man pulled out his personal computer and initiated a search.

"It seems I must find what he wants first. Hopefully this time he won't mess up."

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Kevin was very confused.

Their "date" began at noon sharp, over at the Nasty Burger. To be honest, he was pretty sure he ate there too much. But Nasty Sauce wouldn't kill him for thirty years; his dad's cooking would kill him in minutes.

Dani had showed up in regular clothes, and immediately raised an eyebrow at him. He wasn't in a _tux_ or anything, but he had dressed up a little. He'd silently thanked whoever was listening that he hadn't worn dress shoes and ushered Dani ahead of him in line, hoping he had enough money to pay for the two of them. Then Dani had bought her _own_ food. The two of them had sat in silence for a solid five minutes before they'd taken a stab at talking, and then neither of them had been able to shut up. Fortunately, they ran out of food after fifteen straight minutes of talking and took off for the downtown library.

Now it was time to think about dinner. But what should he do? He had no idea. Had she really meant 'date' when she said date? Or had she just meant a studying thing? Was he supposed to ask her to dinner? And if they weren't actually on a _date_, would _he_ be making a move by asking? And what if she didn't like him that way and he _did_ ask?

"Kevin?"

"WHAT?" He shouted, dropping his book and looking around, wide-eyed. Dani blinked.

"It's…getting late." Oh boy.

"Uh…yeah." He answered, biting his pen cap. Smooth.

"Right. I'd better get home." She said, packing up her books. Kevin was starting to panic.

"Wait!" She paused, looking up. Kevin gulped. "Um, do you, uh…wanna get something for dinner?" Dani paused for a second, then blushed.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "I would." Oh thank God. He didn't creep her out.

But now he _was_ on a date!

Kevin gulped. How did he end up in this situation? This was going to be a _long_ day.

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"That'll be four fifty-two." Nodding, Sam reached into her wallet and handed the cashier a five.

"Running low?" He asked conversationally. Sam snorted.

"Natural, thank you." She informed the man, grabbing her change. She liked her hair, and wasn't about to change it. And she _definitely_ wasn't going to bleach it like her mom did.

A loud crash could be heard at the back of the room. The cashier looked up, alarmed.

"What was _that_?" He exclaimed.

"Ha ha!" Came the reply, as a bibbed ghost shot up in the health and beauty section. "At last, all of these tiny little boxes will be _mine_. And you shall all feel my corrugated cardboard fury!" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Fury?" She asked dryly. The box ghost froze mid-rant and glared down at her. Furious, he pointed his finger at the Goth girl and shouted.

"You! Human ally of my arch-nemesis! You shall be the first to feel the million tiny paper cuts of DOOM!" Filling with green energy, the boxes along each aisle flew up and surrounded the ghost, forming thick paper armor. Shouting an incoherent battle cry, the box ghost zoomed down the aisle. The cashier screamed and dived under the counter as Sam reached over beside the door and grabbed a mop.

"Batter up!" She shouted, swinging the wooden cleaning implement just in time to connect with the flying spook with a CRACK!

"Ah!" The box ghost shot backwards out of his cardboard shell as it collapsed to the floor. "You shall rue the day that you OW! OW!"

Sam picked up another candy bar and lightly tossed it in her outstretched hand.

"You shall – OW, quit it! – fear my cardboard – hey! – wrath OW!" Now laughing out loud, Sam whipped out her Fenton Thermos and sucked up the annoying spook.

"I'll let you out some time next week." She promised sweetly as she tucked her captive away. "Thanks for the hair dye." She said to the shaking cashier, and walked out of the shop, humming under her breath.

Still shaking, the man reached up and grabbed his phone, dialing 800.

"Amity Anti-Ghost division, Tower 1. This is First Officer Anne Hoss."

"Hello. I'd like to report a ghost attack."

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"Dani?" Tucker asked, wide-eyed.

"Danny?" Val asked, whipping her head around. "Danny's here with Sam? Where?"

"Sam?" Tucker asked. "Why would Sam be here with Dani? Dani's here with Kevin."

"Why would Danny be having dinner with Kevin?" Val asked. Tucker slapped his forehead.

"Other. Dani." He explained.

"Oh." Val blushed. "Duh. Where are they?" Tucker gestured to the back of the restaurant. Her face lit up.

"Aw, they're so cute." She gushed. Tucker felt his jaw drop. "What? I can't think they look cute?"

"I didn't think you knew the _word_ cute." Tucker said. Val slugged him in the arm. "See? This is what I'm talking about!"

"Welcome to BonVino. Can I help you?" A waitress asked. Tucker smiled.

"Yeah, we'd like a table."

"Any preferences?"

"No, we're…"

"Over there!" Val pointed at a table with a clear view of Dani and Kevin. Tucker groaned.

"Right, we'll be right back with your menus." Val smirked at the look on Tucker's face.

"We're going to spy on them, aren't we?" Tucker asked dully. She nodded.

"Come on, Tucker. It's _Dani_. What's the worst thing she could think to do to us if we got caught?"

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A tall man in dark sunglasses walked into the small shop. Bert was still busy sweeping up all of the boxes.

"There was a ghost attack here?" The cashier nodded.

"Are you with the Anti-Ghost division?" The white-suited man paused, then nodded.

"It appeared over in health and beauty and started throwing boxes _everywhere_." Bert started; ready to burst into a long, epic tale of the whole affair. Of course, he'd been hiding at the time, but he didn't need to mention that part.

"And how was it contained?" The man interrupted. "Phantom?" Bert looked up, confused.

"No, some girl. A human." If anything, this made the man _more_ interested.

"Do you know her name?" He asked quickly. The cashier shook his head.

"No, sorry. But she was in her mid-teens, long black hair, purple eyes. She was buying black hair dye."

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Rebecca Manson, graduate of the University of Brussels, civil rights activist, international Red Cross volunteer, and grandmother to one of the most experienced ghost hunters in Amity Park, had never been so afraid in her life.

A giant, furry, paw-like hand wrapped around her mouth before she could even let out a sound, and a huge, fang-filled mouth opened below glaring green eyes.

"No screaming. Yes?" She quickly shook her head from side to side. "I will not be hurting you. I am a good ghost. A friend." Slowly, he took his hand away.

"If you're so good, why are you hiding up here?" Bec asked quickly, but softly, fixing a stare on the giant beast. He seemed taken aback.

"Eh, Sam is hiding me?" He tried. Rebecca blinked. "She can not be punished for this, I promise."

"What's your name?" She tried. "And what are you doing here? In the human world, I mean." Wulf blinked.

"You are not frightened?" Bec chuckled.

"Terrified. But if you want to tear my head off, trying to get away probably won't do me much good. And you didn't answer my question." The wolf ghost grinned.

"Wulf."

"Suits you." Now he actually laughed.

"I have been told this before. I am here so I can live with humans, but other ghosts are angry with me, and hunt me. I need to hide for a while, until my friends come too." Bec frowned for a second, but then nodded.

"How do you know Sam then?"

"I do not, very well. She keeps me here for my amigi, Danny." Rebecca raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Do tell."

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Dani took another deep breath and mentally counted to ten. Kevin asked her to dinner! At a _French_ place. Sure, only the name was really French, and the food wasn't pricey or anything. But it was the thought that counts, right?

He shifted uncomfortably across the table. Their plates were about half-empty, just leftover fries left. Kevin gulped.

"So," he started hesitantly, "what does this mean? I mean, we're on a date, and stuff. Are we…dat_ing_?" Deep breath. One two three four. Just calmly tell him yes.

"Kevin, you're a really nice guy. And, um, I think we could be great friends." She said, reaching across the table. "And…" The spoons and forks on her side started glowing green and moving around on their own. Dani's eyes widened. "I've got to go!" She shouted, backing away from the table and taking off through the doors.

"What?" Kevin asked. "What'd I do?" At a nearby table, another couple quickly asked for their check.

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"I think we've got something." Maddie said, holding up the results of the latest string of tests. Danny stirred from beside the lab sink, where he was busy washing his hair before Sam could put in the dye.

"What?" He asked, bringing his head up. "Can you fix it?" Growling, Sam grabbed the top of his head and shoved it back down under the water. He sputtered indignantly, but started scrubbing again.

"Complex molecules. Lots of organics, so they're probably proteins of some sort. But they're giving off the same radiation as ectoplasm. Particles of the stuff seem to be bonded to it at key points. I've never seen anything like this." Jack grabbed the paper from her hands, and paused.

"I have." He said, rushing over to the computer in the corner. A second later, the screen showed a very strange-looking spiral of human _and_ ghost stuff.

"Danny's mid-morph DNA." Jack explained. "It's only active during the split second he transforms. But all DNA can code for proteins. These must be what those strands make." He scratched his head. "But the odds of producing these in that split second…"

"Anything like the odds of getting ghost powers from an unstable energy explosion?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"Good point." Jack allowed. "Some of your cells must have succeeded a few transformations ago, and now that DNA is stuck in the 'on' position. It's not going dormant when your transformation's over. Still, your body should have tried to destroy any cell that was making these. Your immune system wouldn't recognize them anymore." Maddie's eyes widened.

"Your cold!" She exclaimed. "Your old human cells must have lost to these new ones. That's when you started to get better."

"What do you mean my human cells lost?" Danny sputtered under the water, tensing.

"Oh no! You're still human." Maddie clarified quickly. "And nothing in your DNA has changed really. But in the new cells, your mid-morph strands are active all the time, instead of just when you change forms." Danny shivered slightly, relieved. He was still human.

"Which means what?" Sam asked.

"We don't know, really." Maddie confessed as Danny stood up and started drying his white-streaked hair. "But in some ways, what's happening makes a little sense. Danny's human form changes how his ghost half works; it seems reasonable that his ghost half would change his human side a little, now that the altered DNA is being used all of the time."

"But why the white hair?" Danny asked desperately, dropping the towel and glancing at the dye packet with trepidation.

"Lots of your DNA was changed by the accident." Maddie answered. "One of the genes for your hair color must have been affected. Now that the mutated DNA is more active, it seems to be suppressing the old information. So your hair is turning white."

"Well what's next?" Danny asked, falling back into a chair and taking slow breaths, trying to stay calm. "Green eyes? Green _blood_? What? Can you at least tell me _what's going to happen to me_?" Both of his parents shook their heads sadly. Sam gave him a hug.

"We don't know, sweetie." Maddie said apologetically. "There's just no way to figure out what each of the activated genes will do to you until they do it. All we know is it will happen quickly. We can't tell you what you'll look like, what you'll be made of, or even what you might be able to do. As a ghost _or_ as a human. We're so sorry."

"Right." He said shortly and dropped the dye into his hair, bending sharply into the sink to catch the falling black drops. A few other drops fell, too. But he was sixteen years old. His parents didn't need to see him crying.

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"Leave me alone!" Dani shouted miserably as Val finally caught up on her jet board.

"Please, Dani! Let's talk about this! What went wrong?" She asked loudly over the wind. The ghost girl froze midair and whipped around to glare at the huntress.

"You were _there_? You were spying on me too? What, did Danny send you? Did he…" Val held up her hand.

"I was on a date with Tucker! I _was_ watching, and I'm sorry. But that's all! I swear! Now what happened?" Suddenly there was a small teenage girl gripping her around the waist tightly and sobbing into the front of her suit.

"It was my stupid powers." She yelled into Val's suit. "I lost control. I had to leave or Kevin would have found out. And now he probably thinks I hate him! I don't hate him, I hate these stupid _powers_!" She screamed. At a loss, Val awkwardly patted the poor girl on the back.

"I am so sorry." She whispered. "Don't worry; we'll set it right on Monday. If you want, we can pretend you saw me spying and freaked out. I'd be happy to take the blame." Dani looked up.

"You'd do that?" Val nodded. Dani squeezed harder. The huntress coughed.

"Thank you!" Val nodded.

"No problem." She wheezed. "But humans need air, Dani." Blushing, the ghost girl let go.

"Wanna go back to my apartment?" Val asked gently. "I have a gallon bucket of ice cream and a new bottle of syrup." Dani giggled.

"That is _such_ a cliché...Let's do it."

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Sam had said her goodbyes to Danny and taken off. Apparently Dani was going to spend the night at Val's place. Good thing. Sam had a strong feeling he needed some alone time with his parents. At least the dye had worked. They'd even done his eyebrows in case those started to change, too.

Sighing, Sam trudged inside and went up to check on her 'tenant'. Sure she was still a little ticked at Danny for dumping him on her, but all things considered…he had enough problems right now.

"Oh?" Laughing echoed from behind the attic door. Sam froze in shock when she looked inside.

"G-grandma?" Rebecca smiled softly and waved from beside Wulf.

"Hello, dear. Your friend and I have just been talking. Did you know he speaks three different languages, and likes to cook?" Sam was pretty sure she'd never completely close her mouth again. Wulf grinned.

"That's nice." She said weakly.

"We are talking of your partner friend Danny." Wulf said, smiling. Sam paled.

"A fine young man if I ever met one." Rebecca said. "Said so the first time I met him. Incidentally dear, I would love to visit that 'Relativity' room of his. It's my favorite print, you know."


	6. A New Morning

Okay, this is just demeaning.

In case some of you out there don't know, two of the new season three Danny Phantom eppis have now been aired...In Latin America! Not that I begrudge latin phans their entertainment, but...this is just sad. The show is produced in English. It takes time to review the english show, figure out a Spanish dub that fits everything, re-record, process, and then deliver those edited eppis. So really, if everything were being showed asap, we would have seen these MONTHS ago. If Nick was trying to be fair internationally and show them at the same time, I could respect that, but to show the dubbed versions FIRST...

My theory, Nick execs are trying to make us all so frustrated with the show that its viewership will be basically zero by the end. That way they can totally justify its premature death. Brilliant strategy, because I AM pretty annoyed with them right now. Not that I won't watch when these FINALLY air in America. For those of you who understand Spanish, these highly entertaining new eppis can be found on YouTube. If you can't, you can still see one eppi early, after 'FrightMare' airs next weekend in CANADA. Not kidding.

On a more cheerful note, my personal Writer's Block monster has once again been shoved into the tiny FunBox I keep in the back of my brain. Hopefully it will stay there for a few weeks...months...years. Whatever. Anywho, here's the third (fourth...fifth?) rewrite of this chapter. I'm actually pretty happy with it now. I DO know where I'm going with this, but it was hard for me to make some critical transitions without being either corny or crude. Thankfully, I think I made it safely. You will now find out what, if anything, Granny Manson knows (She will be 'Rebecca' for these fics. Thanks for all who posted 'Ida'. That was my bad.), what Writer/Ember/Wulf's big 'plan' is, get more Vlad evilness, and hopefully clear up any dark angsty mushy gunk. We'll see how things go.

My next update will probably come before Saturday. Beyond that, I don't know. This is going to be a very bad week for me, so if I sail through it successfully, my post will probably come sooner. I'm going to get REALLY busy in another week or so, so I'll try to finish up as much of the story as I can now.

Also, although I've planned Amity Park's ultimate future from my first draft of the Danny/Clockwork moment at the end of 'Exceptions', some of the finer details of all that may yet come to pass were inspired by Esme Kali Phantom's Spirit stories. Just to throw that out there. Thanks, Esme.

Love to Reviewers! Thank you viciousberries, Meagainsttheworld, 'Quacked Lurker', bluename, acosta perez jose ramiro, cordria, Data-Dog, Diamond Raider, Epona Harper, hermie-the-frog, Pieling, Unrealistic, Sasia93, purpledog100, The Fluff Ghost, cariadiorarua, Esme Kali Phantom, egyptianqueen777, 'Linda', Adran06, Nikki Phantom of the Opera, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, Chaos Dragon, Writer's-BlockDP, AirGirl Phantom, Nonasuki-chan, Queen S of Randomness 016, Warrior of winds, and kitain9. You are teh awesomeness.

o.O Right, after all of THAT, here's the chapter.

HiddenAuthor

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A New Morning

"It's time."

Ember nodded. They'd waited long enough. Bullet and his team would have worked past the cemetery by now; if they waited any longer they'd risk a repeat search. The two floated up towards the secret door in the back wall of the vast library. Writer paused a moment, looking back at his collected works. Ember rested a hand on his arm, gently pulling him towards the ramp.

"Come on." Writer broke free from her grip and flew across the way. A minute later, he was back by her side, clutching two books.

"First editions." He explained. "We can go now." Arm in arm, the two walked into the darkness. After a long moment, the hidden door snapped shut behind them.

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Danny's eyes flared bright green, betraying his agitation. In human form they had at least remained blue, but over the last several hours he had totally lost anything that he could call control over their color. He was happy, they glowed, he was sad, they glowed, whatever, they _glowed_. Not that he didn't have an excuse to freak out a little. It had been a long night, in every sense of the word.

None of the Fentons had been able to sleep. Both of his parents had explained to him that since the end of his 'cold' had marked the all but complete takeover of his body by these new 'hybrid' cells, there was nothing they could do to prevent what was happening. All they could do was watch, and wait, and see what happened. Danny's case was absolutely, completely unique. He had no idea what would happen. And he was scared out of his mind.

Around midnight his parents had suggested he get some sleep, and Danny had almost laughed at the idea. He just couldn't bring himself to close his eyes as a still almost-normal looking human if there was a chance he'd wake up as something completely different. That he might have to walk around in disguise for the rest of his life just to avoid being captured and dissected. His parents didn't even know if he'd stay human at all!

The ghost boy shivered as the thought crossed his mind, his eyes glowing more brightly. He blinked hard in irritation. At least none of his other powers seemed to be moving beyond his control. Not yet, anyway…

And the list went on.

Though he hoped he wouldn't find out soon, he was pretty sure all of his hair was white, except maybe his eyebrows. His ghost form had black eyebrows, so that was reason to hope. Not that he'd know until the dye he'd used wore off. Still, better safe than sorry.

His average temperature had dropped _again_. Doctor visits had been awkward before; now they might be downright dangerous. Even a routine checkup would probably book him an overnight stay for hypothermia. Though his body still seemed to be working fine. His parents were working on a theory for that one, too, though Danny suspected they were just trying to keep busy.

And of course, the best part. After all that, he still had no idea if he was done. Which is why he was sitting down. On the lab table. Hooked up to testing equipment. Again.

"Ugh…" He groaned at the sight of yet _another_ long and pointy needle. At this rate, he'd hate hospitals more than Tucker!

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"And that's it." Sam finished, somewhat lamely. Her grandmother sat back, blinking in her chair, and took another long sip of tea. Wulf was in the other corner, looking sheepish. He'd apparently had no idea that her grandmother didn't know. And despite herself, Sam could believe it. The older woman was probably the best con she'd ever met.

"Grandma." She broke in, giving the old woman a piercing gaze. "Fess up. Did you know all along?" The flustered woman stared for a second, then actually managed a chuckle.

"Sammy, how on _earth_ was I supposed to figure something like that out? Yes, I saw they looked so much alike. Yes, I saw everything that happened between Danny and that…Masters person. And I know you've been fighting with Phantom for years. But _this_?" She shook her head. "Too bizarre." She really _did_ seem shaken up.

"Are you okay?" She asked, grabbing her grandmother's arm. Bec gave her a one-eyed glare.

"Don't you dare try and think I'm frail, Sam." She said shortly, but with a small smile to soften the rebuke. "I'm not just some old woman, you know." Sam smiled. Wulf stepped forward nervously.

"Sorry about this. I…" He stopped, sniffing the air. A huge grin crossed his face. "I must go now." A second later, and he vanished. Bec cocked an eyebrow.

"Crazy life, huh?" Sam nodded. Her grandmother's face fell. "That poor boy. All of that trouble, so young. Can't say I don't respect him, but it really isn't fair."

"It's not all bad." Sam argued, though to be honest she mostly agreed. "How much would _you_ give to be able to just fly around whenever you wanted?" _That_ managed to coax a hesitant smile.

"Take you flying a lot, dear?" She asked. Sam blushed. "It does sound nice." Sighing, Rebecca wheeled back towards the elevator. "Come on back to my room, dear. I'll make us more tea, and we can talk some more. It will be nice to get to know my favorite granddaughter again." Sam cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm your only granddaughter."

"Easy choice then." Rolling her eyes, Sam followed her grandmother down. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

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Ember and Writer rushed out of the Fenton Portal, gasping for breath.

"We made it!" Ember said happily, hugging the ghostly author tight. He smiled.

"Yeah." He was grinning like an idiot. "I don't think anybody saw us, either. This might all work out after all!" Then, the two froze as they saw that the Fenton Lab wasn't empty. Jack, Maddie, and Dani were staring at the two intruders with varying expressions of shock and anger. Yelling loudly, Jack whipped out a large bazooka and pointed it at the pair.

"Get out of my town, ghosts!" He shouted, his weapon giving off a loud whine as it charged. Dani jumped in front of the glowing barrel.

"No! Ember's nice!" She shouted fast, then cast an uncertain look back. "And the other one is…who are you?" She asked flustered. At her confusion, Maddie quickly lifted a weapon of her own, but seemed more curious than angry.

"The GhostWriter." He answered quickly. "I fought Danny two years ago and…" Now every weapon the two older Fentons had were aimed right at his head, glowing deadly green.

"Smooth." Ember muttered under her breath. "Want to try some more 'explaining'? Maybe you can get them to blow me up too." Writer shot her a quick glare, and stepped to the side slowly, raising his hands.

Just in time for Wulf to fly through the ceiling on the other side of the room.

"It's an ambush!" Jack shouted, turning his gun on the surprised wolf ghost. Maddie quickly pushed his arm down.

"No, Jack! He was with Danny, remember?" Wulf nodded quickly. Jack nodded and turned back to pointing his death ray at Writer.

"Okay, ghost. I haven't slept in two days, my son might be mutating, melting, or blowing up right now, and I'm in a room full of ghosts. You have ten seconds to convince me not to shoot you."

"I'm with him!" Writer shouted quickly, pointing at Wulf. "Danny's helping us with something!" He paused, and turned towards Wulf, cocking an eyebrow. "He _is_ helping us, right?" Wulf nodded. "Oh, good." He turned back towards Jack. "There you go. I'm sure Danny will vouch for me." Jack nodded, and motioned for Maddie to go get him.

"We'll see." He said shortly, and didn't lower the bazooka.

"So what did you mean, 'mutating'?"

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Danny stared at the card incredulously for several long moments. His bedroom filled with tense, nervous silence. Tucker cleared his throat.

"You like it? I know it's kind of lame, but…" His best friend seemed to be fighting some impossible inner force for several long moments. Then, eyes flaring green, he cracked up, falling back onto his bed, his chest heaving with gasping laughter. The card slowly fell from his shaking hand.

'_Sorry you're mutating into a freaky goop monster. Get well soon.'_

"I hope you don't mind that it's home-made." Tucker jokingly apologized, barely managing not to join him. "HallSign didn't have any." Finally, he couldn't help it, and leaned forward in his chair, clutching his sides. Valerie stared at the two of them for several long moments.

"H-how, d-did you find out?" Danny asked, slowly regaining some self control as his eyes returned to their usual blue.

"Sam called me last night." Tucker said. "I told her on the way over." He threw in, pointing at Val.

"You can't tell its dye." She said lamely, completely at a loss for something nice to say. How Tucker came up with funny, cheerful things to say in the weirdest situations, she'd never understand. Danny sobered up pretty quick after that. Valerie winced. Yeah, that was a dumb thing to say. Tucker stared for a second.

"It _is_? _All_ of it?" Danny nodded slowly. "Oh." He seemed at a loss.

"Where's Dani?" Danny asked at last. Val pointed down.

"Talking to your parents. I think she's worried this will happen to her, too."

"It could." He said grimly. "But…I guess it's not too bad. I still _look_ normal, with hair dye. For now, anyway." Tucker's eyes widened.

"But what about when you change into a ghost? The dye…" Danny froze, then smacked his forehead.

"Oh man." He groaned. Finally, he looked up. "We'll have to figure something out. Let's just hope the ghosts stay away for a while. I mean, some still get invited sometimes, but it's been a lot quieter. Maybe we'll be lucky." There was a knock on the door.

"Um, Danny? Two ghosts just showed up downstairs. They said they're here with that hairy wolf ghost." Danny groaned, and fell back on his mattress.

"I'll be right down." He said tiredly. "Tell dad not to kill them." Nodding, Maddie turned around and ran to stop her husband from making her son more enemies.

"Okay." He said finally as he quickly transformed and started down through the floor. "Let's hope no _more_ ghosts show up." Val turned to glance tiredly at her boyfriend.

"How long before the next invasion?"

"Since Danny just asked for quiet? I give it five hours tops."

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Vlad stared at the flickering screen in his private Amity home for several long moments before bursting into maniacal laughter. Grinning at the footage of Wulf and company in the FentonWorks Basement, the ex-ghost quickly went over to a pink-rimmed cube and pressed a switch. A green vulture ghost flew out of the cramped space and glared balefully at the smiling man.

"You've got a lot of nerve locking up a ghost with no powers of your own, Vladdie." He growled. Vlad flashed him a feral smile.

"True. But if you want your two friends back, you'll do me a favor first." The ancient bird spirit seemed to deflate slightly.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Just send Walker a message." He said lightly. "He gives me what I asked him for, and I give him Wulf."

"And you'll release my friends?" The Vulture asked.

"One of them." Vlad answered simply. The spirit glared furiously. "For the other, I think you could do me a second favor."

"Which is?" It spat through its beak.

"I'll tell you when I know."

Screaming in incoherent rage, the winged ghost flew off at top speed to do its master's bidding. Vlad looked back at the screen and cracked up again, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Here I thought I'd never get my plan off the ground, and Daniel's practically dropping it in my lap." He chuckled. "Oh the sweet irony."

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Ember stared incredulously as the ghost boy floated down through the ceiling.

"Hey, dipstick." She said, blinking. Danny grimaced distastefully.

"If I'm going to help you, you'll have to drop the insult." She cocked an eyebrow.

"You look it, though. What's with the hair?" His hair was still pitch black. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Just one more problem." He conceded as he landed lightly in front of his two guests. "So how are you going to pull this off?"

"Ember and I look human enough." Writer answered, giving Danny an appraising look. "There's a store downtown up for sale, including the apartment above it. Perfect for us."

"And what, Wulf's your pet?" Danny asked dryly. Said ghost sent a glare at his back. Ember caught the look and smiled.

"He's our link to the Ghost Zone." Writer answered. "We need him if this is going to work."

"Excuse me." Jack and Maddie finally interrupted, pushing forward. "If _what_ is going to work?" Danny shot them an apologetic smile and crossed his legs to hover in midair. He quickly waved for Wulf to join them, and the group formed a small circle.

"These guys are going to set up a shop in town." He explained. "They want to spend more time with humans."

"And maybe turn a profit." Writer threw in. "The Ghost Zone is full of strange and unique stuff. We can do a solid business here. We already made enough start-up money." Jack and Maddie seemed taken aback.

"We've never heard of ghosts doing something like that!" Maddie exclaimed. Wulf grinned.

"None have, before. Or not for a very long time. But people in Amity are less afraid of ghosts. We will have to hide at first, but in time, this may be a good place for such things. And we will be the first." Dani grinned.

"This sounds awesome!" The adults seemed a bit concerned, though.

"This could be bad." Jack said nervously. "What if you get caught? Amity might be swarmed by the government, or attacked by angry ghosts!"

"We think it's worth the risk." Ember answered.

"But who gave you the _right_ to take that risk?" He shot back.

"I did." Danny said. Both of his parents turned to stare at him. Writer cleared his throat.

"Under ghost law, Amity Park does technically belong to him."

"Humans wouldn't like that idea very much." Maddie said sternly. Danny flushed, but didn't back down.

"It is what it is." He said firmly. "Besides," he added, waving a free hand through his hair, "considering what's going on, getting people used to ghosts might be a good idea." His mother winced, but nodded. Jack nodded as well.

"Good." Writer said briskly. "I'm glad that's settled. Now we should probably take off quickly, in case some strange ghost decides to pop in and sees us." He turned towards Danny. "Lead the way?" Danny nodded, and headed off for the far wall. Dani transformed and moved to follow.

"I'll be back later." He called over to his parents. "Keep an eye on the portal for a bit?" The two of them nodded absently and went back to work on Damon's lasers.

Shortly after the ghostly troupe had vanished, Val and Tucker came thudding down the lab stairs. The two pairs locked eyes for a few seconds, both wondering what the other was up to. Thus distracted, neither group noticed a small green ghost soar through the swirling green portal at the end of the room.

"What we miss?" Tucker asked, gasping. Jack and Maddie shook their heads, absently offering the two some tools and un-built weapons.

"A lot."


	7. A Ghostly Troop

Hey Peoples!

WOOT! Day One of THE WEEK FROM $# is over! And I'm still alive! And better, my Writer's Block defeat gave me incredible inspiration powers, and I'm spawning vast amounts of fresh story. So, I felt like updating again. Yeah, I JUST did it, but I wanted to. So yeah. Besides, this is technically before Saturday, just like I promised. ;)

Love to all who Review! Thanks to Sasia93, Pieling, egyptianqueen777, Nikky Phantom of the Opera, 'Linda', Unrealistic, Nobody Famous, The Fluff Ghost, Esme Kali Phantom, Adran06, viciousberries, Epona Harper, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, 'Quacked Lurker', magpie8spook, Warrior of winds, acosta perez jose ramiro, bluename, hermie-the-frog, Meagainsttheworld, Diamond Raider, and dannyp14. Thanks all.

Finally, to clear up my earlier statements. I am not mad at residents of other countries or at the countries themselves. I am only mad at Nick for holding back eppies that they have obviously had for MANY months. For those who get to actually watch said eppies, I have only a mild case of envy. :)

Also, BEHOLD THE DANNY/GRANDMA MOMENT!! HAHAHAHA!

HiddenAuthor

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A Ghostly Troop

"So how's this gonna work?" Danny called out to the trio of ghosts between him and his cousin as the five of them flew towards downtown Amity Park.

"We call the number on the window, offer more than the demanded price in cash, and sit back while the owner runs over." Writer answered dryly. He was still looking at Danny funny. The teen superhero flushed a bit and sent the poet a questioning glance.

"What?"

"Well the last time we parted company, it wasn't on friendly terms." Writer called out. "I'm wondering why you're working so hard to help us." Danny shrugged.

"You have a good idea." He called back. "Besides, that whole mess was my fault anyway." Dani was looking back and forth between the two curiously.

"Did I miss something?"

"Tell you later." Writer promised with a genuine smile before turning back to the ghost boy. "I must admit, I'm impressed, Phantom. Thanks for growing up a bit. It makes this a lot easier." Danny blushed, and shrugged.

"I suppose I should thank you for that." He answered. "You helped me remember that there are consequences for my actions, and that I shouldn't just go trashing stuff when I'm in a bad mood. Unless I own it." Writer grinned.

"That, and maybe a bit on the true meaning of Christmas?" Danny rolled his eyes.

"And the spirits did it all in one night." He answered dryly. At this Writer laughed out loud.

"Oh, I think we'll get along splendidly."

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In his entire long afterlife, Walker had never wanted anything more than to reach across the small work desk and strangle the smug man in front of him, right now. Instead, he fixed on a tight smile and began gathering his energy in case of…unforeseen dangers. This _was_ Vlad Masters, after all.

"Walker." His host said brightly, deliberately letting some of his smugness seep through. "I'm so glad you changed your mind about our little arrangement. And that you managed to sneak here undetected. I hope it wasn't too taxing on you." The warden scowled.

"You're a brave man, Masters." He said grudgingly. "But you're playing with fire, and without powers, you _can_ get burned. I'll give you five minutes to convince me not to vaporize you where you sit. After all this trouble, it would go a long way toward making me feel better." Vlad smiled.

"I'll convince you in one." He answered. "I know where Wulf is. As well as several associates that travel with him, all tempting targets for an upstanding officer like you. My contacts are still reliable, even if I do risk…ehem…a rather painful burning to gather such information." His 'partner' narrowed his green eyes.

"Well, where are they?" Vlad put on a comically shocked expression.

"Considering how our last deal went, I think you'll do your part first this time." The ghost's eyes flared dangerously, but a few moments later Walker let out an involuntary chuckle.

"What do you want, human?" He asked, though with noticeably less bite. Vlad grinned.

"I'd like to invite you and all of your guard friends to visit the city of Amity Park for a while." Walker raised an eyebrow.

"I hate to admit it, Masters, but that Phantom kid is too much for us. And that's by himself. You throw in that new Anti-Ghost division of Gray's and that psycho huntress kid, and we're talking suicide. Why should I even _try_ an attack?"

"I didn't say attack." Vlad answered mildly. As much as he hated to admit it, Walker was now officially in the dark.

"Then _what_?" Masters smiled.

"Overshadow people. Important people, normal people, as many as you can." He answered. "Have some fun with it. Just for a while. When I'm satisfied, I'll take you to Wulf."

Walker stared for several long moments, deep in thought. Finally, he gave a brusque nod and stood, floating off towards the door.

"Fine. We'll start as soon as we can find a reliable portal. But you're wasting your time, Masters. It might take a bit longer this way, but Phantom will still catch us." And just like that, Vlad was alone. But strangely, that last statement made the man grin.

"I know he will."

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Considering how fast the sharply dressed business woman arrived after their call, Danny couldn't help but think she had super powers. He, Wulf, and Dani were safely invisible in the back of the downstairs office space when she burst through the door and thoroughly shook Writer's hand.

"First off, since you're new here and I don't want to go through buyer back out again, do you already know that this city is haunted?" She spoke quickly and crisply, and gave off the strong impression that she thought the couple in front of her might disappear if she blinked too long. Writer smiled bemusedly and gently pried his fingers free.

"We've heard things, yes. But we're not too worried." The woman cocked an eyebrow.

"You don't have a problem with ghosts?" Ember shook her head, grinning.

"Na. I've even run into a few since I got here. Didn't seem that dangerous to me." Danny and crew were trying _very_ hard by this point to not let out any loud laughter or accidentally become visible. The brisk woman smiled.

"That's the spirit! Now, when I heard your offer, I thought you might be confused, and…"

"We are not." Writer assured her with a smile. "We simply want to be sure you accept, and would like to start moving in immediately." The woman's grin grew, and she quickly shook Ember's hand before once again shaking Writer's.

"That's wonderful! This place has been empty since April; the tenants got fed up with all of the ghost stuff and I couldn't find anybody who wanted to rent. I thought I'd try just selling the place entirely, but I didn't actually think it would work. Oh! Before we can start dotting i's, I'll need to know more about you. Mr. and Mrs.….?"

"Oh, no. We're not married." Writer explained casually. The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Yet." Ember hastily added, pulling him close. Writer seemed at a complete loss, sputtering in a futile attempt to either refute or confirm what she'd just said. Danny thought he might rupture. The woman's face cleared.

"Oh, I see. Want to try living together before any 'till death do us parts'?"

"Something like that." Writer said weakly, more to cover up the finally overpowering chuckles from the back corner than to agree. The woman nodded.

"I can respect that. Name's Jude Patterson. Don't call me Judy, pay me before the date on the contract, and we'll get along great." Writer beamed.

"We got the building?"

"You got the building." She confirmed, smiling. "Just don't come crying to me if some ghost decides to move in."

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Walker looked up in surprise as Bullet came in, looking haggard and thoroughly drained.

"You caught him?" The second-in-command nodded quickly.

"Only just got back from the human world. Seemed shaken up. Good thing, he's great at escapes."

"Good. I know how hard this has been for you, but it is the fastest way into Amity besides that blasted portal."

"I know, sir. But why are we doing this for Masters anyway?" Walker scowled.

"We have nothing to lose, I see no clear advantage over our kind that he could gain from this, and he promised to lead us to Wulf."

"You're going on a promise?" Bullet asked incredulously as the two spirits floated out from their base of operations to rendezvous with the prisoner. Walker smiled viciously.

"As a human, Masters is out of my jurisdiction if he tries to double cross me. So if that happens, I'll just have to put him back _in_ my jurisdiction." Bullet nodded soberly as the pair approached the cage.

There it was. The ghost that would rip the barriers of the universe apart, and lead his troops into Amity for this ridiculous errand. Only one ghost in the entire known ghost zone besides Wulf and Phantom had the power, the skill, and the sheer determination to cross the barriers again and again.

"Beware!"

"Box Ghost." Walker stated coldly. "You will create a portal for us. We must get to Amity Park."

"And why should _I_, master of all things corrugated, cardboard, and square help _you_, who would imprison me in this great box of iron?" He asked. Waker glared at the pathetic little spirit.

"Because if you don't, you'll spend an eternity in my prison. Your lair has more real world contraband than the rest of the Ghost Zone combined. I even had a special round cell built, just for you." What color the Box Ghost had drained from his face at impressive speed. Seconds later, a square portal appeared overhead, apparently opening inside of a box somewhere in Amity Park.

"You have your orders!" Walker called out as he flew up into the gate. "Move out!" Dozens upon dozens of ghostly guards flew in formation up through the glowing portal. And in no time, the box ghost was alone in the ghost zone again. Still locked up.

"Hey! What about me?"

A mile away, Skulktech 2.0's ears perked up at the cry of distress, and the hunter ghost grinned.

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Wulf and company had been busy. A tear in the world here, a jump, a return several minutes later with some piece of furniture or a stack of books…

Both of the younger Fentons had offered to help, but the three ghosts had told them to just sit tight. If Walker should catch either of them helping the fugitive's speedy escape, the consequences did not bear thinking about. So they had contented themselves with arranging the various large objects as instructed in either the lower shop or upper apartment.

Though none of them were particularly tired, Writer called a break at sundown and Wulf quickly pinched his latest tear shut.

"That is a really handy trick." Danny said conversationally from his seat behind the old, dusty counter. "Not that I need it, but I can think of times when it might be useful." Wulf shrugged. Danny cocked an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Wulf? You haven't said much." The large ghost shook his head.

"Later."

"Oookaaay." Danny said slowly, and shrugged. Smiling slightly, he turned towards the other two. "So, what's with this 'marriage' bit?" Writer shifted uncomfortably.

"Nothing. Ember and I really care for each other, but that's as far as it goes right now." Something unreadable seemed to flash across the singer's face for a moment, but she nodded.

"I just like seeing him twitch." She said slyly, winking. Writer scowled as Danny and his cousin laughed.

"Well it's not fair to criticize." He snapped. "You haven't explained why your hair is black." Danny winced.

"Dye."

"Done that, baby-pop." Ember answered dryly.

"Hair. Dye." Danny said slowly, fighting down a small grin. "You've heard of it?" Ember glared.

"For your information, I'm a natural blue!" She snapped. "But more to the point, why make your ghost form look so human? Tired of the whole secret identity bit?"

"No, I'm trying to _keep_ it." Danny said in frustration. "My human form is stuck with white hair, too. It was either dye it black or get shipped off to the GIW." Ember blinked for a few seconds.

"Oh."

"I'll figure something out." Danny said morosely. "I can't let any _more_ people figure out who I really am; at least not until people are used to the idea. And that could take _years_." Wulf cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly.

"Eh, Danny? There may be a small problem."

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Damon grinned as he turned the latest in Fenton Ecto-blaster technology around in his hands. With a fluid motion that had his daughter blinking in mild surprise, the older man whipped the gun around and fired off a precise, thin beam at a target on the far wall. A look of concentration still on his face, the officer pointed the blaster at his own hand and fired, wincing at the smell of burnt hair and the sharp pain of his skin. Shoving that aside, he whistled appreciatively.

"All of that destructive power and this is all it will do to humans?" Both older Fentons nodded proudly. "How'd you figure out how to do that? Even the top-line GIW blasters aren't this precisely calibrated!"

"Danny." Jack answered proudly, then flushed. "Er, Phantom, that is. Danny Phantom."

"He lets us do regular measuring of his own ghost ray." Maddie hurried in to explain. "We use the data to tweak our designs."

"It'll push ectoplasmic technology ahead by decades!" Jack finished enthusiastically. Damon cocked an eyebrow.

"He must really trust you to let you do that. You must be very close." Both of the older hunters flushed slightly, wincing.

"Er…"

"Mr. Gray!" Tucker interrupted, pulling out a slightly bulky device with lots of exposed wires. "Check this out. Val and I have been making it." The older man turned and surveyed the device skeptically. "It's a brand new design."

"Tucker's idea." Val quickly amended. "I just hand him parts." Now her father was more curious. The two Fentons were staring at it too, curiosity overcoming their near miss with the 'Danny' comment.

"I've never seen a system like this." Maddie whispered, going over every detail. Jack nodded.

"That part looks like a compact Ghost Shield, but it's hooked into a laser device instead of a modified frequency-modulated electro-magnetic pulse generator."

"Hold it." Damon threw up his hand before the small thing could bathe in any more super-geek awe. "What. Does. It. Do?" Tucker flushed.

"Not what I wanted it too." He admitted sullenly.

"But it does do something!" Val quickly added, sending him an encouraging smile.

"Most things do something, dear." Damon answered dryly. "What does _this_ do?"

"It sends out waves of energy. I modeled it after D-Phantom's Ghosly Wail." Tucker said, hurrying on before Damon could notice _another_ slip. "It was supposed to hurt only ghosts, but once I made it pass through human stuff, it didn't have enough energy to hurt them either. It just…_pushes_ them."

"Pushes?" Damon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pushes." Val confirmed. "Any ghost you hit with it is knocked backwards until it's out of range. And it only affects ghosts."

"That…could be handy." Damon allowed. Jack was already poking at the thing, following different wires.

"Continuous blast! Brilliant idea!" He said, grinning. Tucker blushed. "But the battery…"

"Good for hours of short blasts, or you can keep one up for about twenty minutes." He admitted. "It sucks the battery dry faster if you keep it going."

"I'll bet that's fixable." Jack whispered, seeming lost in his own thoughts.

"This is absolutely incredible." Maddie breathed. "Could we go over your designs later, just to take a look? I'd love to see your thoughts on…"

Damon took Val by the shoulder and led her up the stairs while a very red Tucker was being questioned by Danny's parents. Once in the living room, the two of them sat down.

"He is brilliant, Valerie." Val nodded.

"I know. But he thinks he's spending too much time with those guys. Maybe we all are." Damon laughed.

"They do have a way of hooking you into this ghost business, don't they?" He admitted fondly. Val smiled. "Even Jazz is studying ghosts at school. It's strange that Danny doesn't seem as interested." Smile gone.

"H-he is." She insisted hesitantly. "Just…not like we are. He's worried about…other stuff."

"Other stuff." Damon said dryly. Val gulped and nodded. He sighed. "Val, I know you are all gung ho ghost fighting warriors or whatever, but…try and look out for one another. I worry. And the fact that whatever Danny's doing – and I _know_ he has to be up to something – is being kept quiet makes me worry even more. Just…promise you'll all take care of yourselves. And if you need help, _ask me_. I do have a small army of ghost fighters and a ring of giant death towers, you know."

Val nodded mutely, and the two walked outside together, hand in hand. Tucker and the Fentons came up shortly after, apologizing loudly to an empty room for forgetting their friends. Shrugging, Jack flipped on the TV and pulled out a small tray table for Tucker to dissect his ray gun on.

'_This is Tiffany Snow with a Special Report. It has now been brought to our attention that there is a last minute runner for Amity Park mayor._

_That's right, Tiffany.'_

Everyone froze, and slowly turned towards the TV, currently locked on Vlad Master's smug face.

'_Mr. Masters. You've only just arrived in town, you have no past political experience, and the controversy over the events in April is scandalous at best. How on earth do you even expect to compete?'_

The man who had been a dear friend to two and always an enemy of one in the room smirked, and seemed to stare out at them.

'_I have a great deal of experience in the paranormal, thanks to my admittedly imperfect business, DALV. And I'm highly motivated to protect the people of Amity Park, and to make up for the fiasco of my earlier attempt with the Tower Project. In short, I shall let my actions speak for themselves. I assure you, no one is more determined to rid this city of ghosts than me.'_

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Rebecca shivered as a strange, cold sensation seemed to wash over her. Sam looked up, startled, from the seat across from her. A surprised and guilty expression seemed to flicker across her face for a moment, then faded into resignation.

"You found out?" She asked.

"Yeah." Bec couldn't help jumping. It was Danny's voice, but it was coming from behind and _far_ above her. His tone seemed to be some strange blend of amusement and resignation. "Some secret identity. Maybe everybody knows, and just doesn't tell anyone else because they think it's still a secret." Sam laughed.

"That would simplify things." A quiet chuckle sounded above her head, though from much closer.

"Come over and sit down, Danny." The old woman said briskly. "No offense, but I can't think straight with you floating about." And just like that, he was sitting in front of her, looking a bit bemused.

"You seem calm." He said, half-surprised.

"I've had almost a day to think about it." She answered dryly. "And I always thought my children were being paranoid when that 'Peeping Phantom' article came out. Just how often do you float through my granddaughter's bedroom window, anyway?" Bec learned ghosts could blush. Very well, too.

"It's not like that." He argued weakly.

"Of course not." She answered. "If I even suspected it was, you'd be vapor by now." Danny seemed taken aback for a moment, but then chuckled. "I'm sorry about your…current problems." She offered. He stared, and rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Uh, thanks. Look, I've had a _really_ long day already and only just found out about this." He glared at Sam for a moment, who shuffled uncomfortably. "So, this is kind of weird for me."

"Really?" Bec raised an eyebrow. "Because it strikes me as perfectly normal." Sam smirked at the sarcasm, though both could tell Danny was serious. On impulse, Sam bent over and whispered something in his ear. He sat up, blinking.

"What?" She nodded. Slowly, Danny turned back and leaned in his seat, apparently struggling with how to phrase something.

"Would you, ah…would you like to fly?" He asked. "We could talk?" Bec blinked for a few moments, then smiled.

"Yes." She said simply. "I would. I had something to ask you anyway."

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S stared at the two reports in front of him, completely at a loss. Something was happening, no doubt, but _what_? This was way too complicated.

Vlad Masters had returned to Amity Park. To run for _mayor_, even. Technically the agent wasn't supposed to use GIW time or money to keep tabs on anyone outside his project, but Vlad…he had to be connected. The paper trail following the April investigations had turned up huge dead ends. By all appearances, while Vlad _had_ sponsored the DALV tower project, all of its finer details, and ultimately the betrayal, had been perpetrated by an employee of his, whom he had left in charge. The mess with his ecto-contamination and discovery at the Manson estate had also been clean. He'd been _invited_ there, run into Danny Fenton of all people, then something had happened involving overshadowing and severe ectoplasm contamination and S losing his memory and…

There was that blue light _again_.

In short, once they'd purged him of any residual ectoplasm, they'd shipped his unconscious body to the local hospital and washed their hands of the matter. With no eyewitnesses, it was impossible to place Mr. Fenton during the incident, whatever it was, and no way to find the truth. So Vlad had been released again. But S still felt something was off. Even the guy's background check was odd; classmates with the older Fentons, all of that sudden business success, the founding of DALV…This guy had _way_ too many suspicious connections to Amity Park, the Fentons, and ghosts.

And now he was back, and trying to build up his ghost towers again. What was _with_ this guy?

S shook his head and turned towards the other papers. Some girl in dark clothes and purple eyes had fought a ghost in a downtown drug store while buying black hair dye. Claimed to be a natural black, but given the clothes she could have been lying. Purple though…odd eye color. Contacts, maybe? You could probably count all of the naturally purple eyed people in Amity on both hands and still have spare fingers. Purple-eyed Goths? Again, sounded familiar, but…Phantom hadn't been seen anywhere near the incident. All they had was a capable teenager and a hysterical clerk. A teenager with a silver thermos…

The Fentons. Again. That thermos was their idea. A good one, too. But how on earth did she get one? The Fentons only had one daughter, and she was too old, the wrong hair and eye color, and a way too far from home. She probably didn't steal it, he'd _seen_ the Fenton house. Even if she'd found a way to break in, she'd never have found one in that mess Jack called a basement. And why would she want one, anyway?

Teenage girl…ghost fighting…technology…

S's eyes widened. He pressed the intercom on his desk.

"Increase the search for this Goth girl. I think we may have found the Red Huntress."

Maybe SHE can lead us to Phantom.

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Rebecca shivered in the night air as her granddaughter's boyfriend carried her gently above the treetops. He slowed down immediately, shooting her a concerned look.

"Did I scare you? Too high?" She shook her head.

"I jumped from airplanes when I was younger. Mostly to scare my parents. Heights don't bother me. I'm just cold." Danny winced slightly, but flew on.

"Sorry. I don't do warm." Bec's eyes widened.

"Oh, no, dear. You're fine for who you are. It's the breeze." Danny nodded, though there wasn't much he could do about either. But he did feel a little better, he realized with a smile.

"I'll bet Sam loves it up here." She said. Danny smiled, and blushed again.

"Yeah, she does." He admitted. "Do you like it?" She laughed.

"Oh yes. But we should get to the point before I turn into a granny-cicle." She smirked, but then grew serious. "Why do you do what you do?" Danny paused, taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"Fight ghosts. Protect people. Take the blame, the beatings, whatever, and then keep right on going." Her ghostly pilot seemed flustered for a moment, then grinned.

"You know, I don't really think about it much any more. I know why I'm not blowing stuff up for fun, but why I help people instead of doing nothing…" He shrugged. "I suppose because I can. It seems like a good way to spend my time." Bec smiled slyly.

"I see. So as ghostly owner of Amity Park, you feel it's worthwhile to protect your property." She said lightly. Danny almost dropped her in shock.

"No! It's not like that at all! It's…I mean…" He shook his head. "I don't know how to answer right, but it's more than that. I don't own any of you, no matter what some big ghost rule book says. I just want you to be safe." Rebecca was still smiling.

"Safe, hm? I remember when that big Pariah ghost took over here. Armed skeletons in the street, giant green dome. I think we were pretty safe then, too. He had us all under control. Would you do that?" Now Danny was seriously considering dropping her. Well…setting her down and flying off. This was insane!

"No way!" Danny said loudly. "Why would I want to force people to do stuff like that? When Pariah took over, everyone was safe, maybe. But everyone was trapped. People need to be free. What kind of monster locks everyone up like that?" Bec nodded reasonably.

"All right. Then not everyone. That Masters person is clearly an enemy of yours. And one who knows too much about you, though Sam never did explain why." She shrugged. "It would be easy, I think, for you to just fly over to wherever he is and destroy him, before he could do any damage. You'd be safer, the people close to you would be safer, so what's to lose?" Danny's eyes flared bright green.

"What is _wrong_ with you? That's twisted! That's messed up! Don't you remember what happened back in April? All of that damage happened just because a bunch of people were trying to blow me up, to protect everyone else. They made that choice, and look how many people were hurt! Sure Vlad is dangerous, but I'm not going to do that to him!"

"So it's not about ownership?"

"No!" His said angrily.

"Or controlling everyone you live with?"

"No!" His eyes flared.

"Or destroying your enemies?"

"NO!" His whole body was shaking, and he was hurrying back towards the manor. The faster he dropped off this psycho old woman, the better.

"Then why, Phantom?" She asked sharply. "Why do you fight these ghosts? Why do you defend people here? Why do you protect Amity Park?"

"Because I care!" He shouted. Several large windows cracked in the approaching building. "Can't you figure that out, you crazy old woman? I. Care. I don't want any of you hurt, and I can help protect you. So I do. That's it! It's not about me, it never was! I don't want to own you, to rule you, or to kill you! I JUST WANT TO PROTECT YOU!" Shaking with anger, Danny phased through the wall, part of which seemed to freeze solid at his touch, and dumped Bec back on her chair beside a very shocked Goth.

"Thank you, Danny." She said casually, fixing her hair back into place. "I think I learned just what I wanted from our little chat. But then I always said you were a good boy." Winking at the openmouthed ghost kid, Bec turned and rolled off. Absently, Sam stood and forced his lower jaw up. He blinked.

"What…just happened?" Sam shrugged.

"I don't know. That old woman is the best con I ever met. How do you think she tricked Wulf into telling her?" He shrugged, seeming very shell-shocked.

"I think…she just got me to tell her things even _I_ didn't know." He admitted, sinking down.

"Yeah, she's good at that." Sam allowed, passing him a cup. "Tea?"


	8. A Secret Identity

A month.

Um, yeah. That is the longest hiatus I've ever had, or likely ever will have. Basically, I had some stuff this last month that occupied all of my attention. I'd call them distractions, but they were WAY too important to neglect, so that doesn't really fit. On the plus side, I got a new apartment and I probably have a job. On the down side, I might not have a job and two of my best friends (10 year friendship) may not be friends anymore. I'm working on it. Other stuff's been going on too, but those are the highlights and I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say never has my life been more like a fusion of 'Days of Our Lives' and 'Jerry Springer'. Fortunately, it's over now. And I'm back. Please don't kill me.

Thank you to all reviewers. Thank you Writer's-BlockDP, Nonasuki-chan, egyptianqueen777, Sasia93, bluename, cordria, Adran06, The Fluff Ghost, Unrealistic, AnimeFan101, Epona Harper, Nobody Famous, Rob Phantom, Quacked Lurker, caraidiorarua, 'Linda', Chaos Dragon, Warrior of Winds, hermie-the-frog, Me-against-the-world, AirGirl Phantom, Nikky Phantom of the Opera, Diamond Raider, acosta perez jose ramiro, dannyp14, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, Tornada Silverwind, ShiroAndFubuki, Queen S of Randomness 016, Esme Kali Phantom, lightanddarklove, wfea, The Only On3, BadCatGirl, 'Nessa Star', 'April B.', cookmeup, Grumbles, and kitain9.

Right, once again, I am VERY sorry for the wait. Thank you everyone for sticking with me despite everything, and welcome to new readers who I hope didn't get a bad first impression! This won't happen again (at least not this long. Maybe four days or something), and the next installment will be up by either Monday or Tuesday. I'll see you then.

HiddenAuthor

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A Secret Identity

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Danny yawned and stretched. It had been a long night. After Bec left, Danny had stayed and talked with Sam for hours over tea. He'd never been that flustered in his whole life; the older woman had practically ripped the information she'd wanted out of him. Sam had told him that like her, Bec thought that why someone did something was at least as important as what they were doing. Danny had asked why Sam had never asked him. She'd said that she already knew.

He blushed again at that. She really was an amazing person; strong, intelligent, independent, impossibly beautiful…

And breathing softly on the couch right next to him.

"AHHH!" Her eyes shot open.

"AHHH!" Panicking, Danny completely phased through onto the floor.

"Ow! What's going on?" He spluttered. Sam's eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh. We fell asleep!" There was a loud knock on the door.

"Sam? Was that you? Are you alright?" Her dad asked loudly. Danny paled.

"Go!" Sam urged, shoving him away from the door. A second later, Mr. Manson burst through the door to see his daughter in an empty room.

"Um…I saw a bug?"

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S sighed. Finally, after hours and hours of late night work, he'd finally gotten all of his paperwork sorted out. If he'd known being in charge required this much filing, he wouldn't have bothered. But how _else_ was he supposed to get close to the Phantom mystery? He was so close…he could feel it. And now he had a lead; that purple-eyed Goth girl. Who was she?

"Good morning, sir!" S blinked. No, it couldn't be that late…early…whatever. "I found a name for myself, just like you ordered." The agent added, saluting. It _was_. "I'm ready to receive orders. Oh yeah," he added, dumping a small mountain of papers onto his IN pile, "The guys upstairs said to give you these." He stood there expectantly while S stared in horror and disbelief at the papers. "Sir?"

"Letter!" He barked, pulling back in his chair.

"Sigma, sir!" The agent said briskly.

"Very good, Sigma." S nodded, standing. "You are officially assigned as my chauffeur. Get a GIW vehicle ready. We're going to Amity Park."

"Sir?" The man answered hesitantly.

"I am not staying here another minute with those papers." Enough was enough. After his failure, he deserved a dismissal. He accepted that. But he was not about to suffer these kind of juvenile insults. His job was in Amity, with Phantom. If his bosses disagreed, they could just fire him like they should have when he first got back.

"You can either ready the car, or I'll reassign another agent to the task. Z in restroom cleaning has been asking for a job change. Of course," he added in mock thought, "I'll need to assign an agent to his job then." Sigma was gone in record time.

"Alright, Phantom. This spying and skulking isn't getting either of us anywhere. And it's driving me crazy." He said to the empty room. "It's time to end this mess once and for all." And without a backward glance, S left the dark, dingy room in the deep levels of the GIW headquarters for what might be the last time, and marched off towards the garage. A few agents gave him strange, questioning looks as he passed, but he paid them no mind. For the first time in months, he felt like he was doing his job.

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In one of the taller towers of downtown Amity Park, beneath a large satellite with APNN proudly showing in red letters, a ghost with an eye-patch floated near a window beside Tiffany Snow, looking down at the awakening city.

"Status, Bullet?" Tiffany asked in a deep southern drawl. Bullet snapped a salute at the small woman.

"All reassigned guards have dispersed. Several prominent law officers, all isolated from the new anti-ghost troops, a few high school students, judges, and a zookeeper." Tiffany nodded.

"Good. I don't know what Masters is up to, but this is a small price to pay for Wulf. Remember, at the first sign of Phantom catching on, the officer is to evacuate the host and leave Amity Park. I may be doing Vlad a favor, but I'm not about to break any rules. This place belongs to Phantom; if he wants us out, we leave."

"Yes, sir. And what about you?" Snow grinned wickedly.

"Oh, I'll report the news of all these people causing destruction and chaos, then I'll go pay Masters a visit. He cooperates, and Tiffany will be there to hear his take on the news. He tries to cheat me…" Her grin deepened as her eyes glowed eerie red. "I'll give her some _real_ news to report when I take off."

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"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Sit down, Hoss." First officer Anne Hoss sat uncertainly in the seat across from Damon Gray, looking around the room absently. Damon sighed, and steepled his fingers.

"Miss Hoss, you have always been one of my most capable officers. Punctual, enthusiastic, energetic; you seem to actually enjoy the work, thinking of it as something more than just a duty to get through before payday. But your work has been slipping. As head of the Anti-Ghost division, it is my job not only to look out for the best interests of the people of Amity Park, but to look out for the well-being of my officers as well. Is there something on your mind?" Anne blinked, and shuffled awkwardly in her seat.

"It's personal sir." Damon nodded.

"I can respect that. But if it's affecting your performance, then I have to take an interest. I don't want to press you, but is this something you'll be able to work out on your own, or will you need my help?" Miss Hoss flushed.

"I…I suppose I'll need help." She admitted. "Er, I…I have formed a bit of an…attachment...to another officer. He hasn't noticed, and I suppose I'm just distracted."

"Oh." Damon blinked. "Would you be comfortable telling me who it is?" The first officer turned a bit red.

"I'd rather not, sir." Damon nodded.

"Well, I can at least provide a distraction from the problem to help you clear your head." Hoss looked up. Damon took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't doing something _too_ immoral. "I want you to go out on patrol with Red Huntress. Get to know her better, so we will know what kind of officer she works best with in the future. I'll inform her myself." Anne hesitated for a brief moment, and then saluted.

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed.'

As Anne left, Damon quickly squashed his guilt. If Hoss was attracted to some officer on the force and he was too dense to see it, maybe she would talk to Valerie about it. And then she could tell him. It might be a bit immoral, but it was for the good of the team, and it was probably the only way he'd be able to tell the mystery crush what was going on.

Whoever it was, Damon hoped he'd be able to force the idea through his obviously thick skull.

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"What's with you?" Danny asked as he sat down next to Tucker and Valerie for lunch.

"I could ask you the same question." Tucker argued. "Did you have a fight with Sam or something?" Danny blinked.

"No, why?" Tuck looked around to make sure she wasn't in the room yet.

"I don't know. You're acting really weird or something. Usually by now you're either arguing about some dark gothic novel nobody's ever heard of or making creepy huge anime love eyes at each other." Danny snorted.

"You watch too much TV, Tuck." He jibed, though he did look uncomfortable as he uncapped his weekly thermos of ectoplasm. With the grimace of a man marching to a slow death, he slowly tipped it up and allowed the gunk to ooze down his throat. Even Tucker shuddered slightly.

"Things were just a little weird with her grandma finding out." He said, which was at least part of the truth. He and Sam were already laughing about the morning thing, but they'd also both decided to never mention it to anyone. Ever. Especially Tucker. The nerves _had_ thrown them a bit off. "Besides," he continued after he'd thoroughly washed the radioactive sludge down with water, "I asked you first. What's up?" Tucker grimaced.

"Val here got an assignment from her dad." He admitted.

"What?" Danny asked incredulously. "He's never done that before." Val scowled.

"I know, and I told him that I wasn't one of his employees to order around, and that I'd help when they needed me. But he did it anyway. Some lady officer is going to go on patrol with me."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad." Danny offered consolingly while shifting to the side as Sam sat down. "I mean, this way his team will get to know you better, and that's important if you're going to work with them."

"I don't see you going in for orientation, Phantom." She retorted bitterly.

"Oh, you're right, Val, I _should_ go into the giant anti-ghost death towers. That's a _great_ idea." Danny commented sarcastically. "Come on, this way at least one of us will get to know these guys better. Besides, people always act weird around me out there. You're better for this one." Val sighed, but nodded.

"I know. And if that was all, I wouldn't mind, I guess. But he wants me to ask her all of these weird questions."

"Weird like what?" Sam asked curiously.

"There's some guy at the towers she likes, and I'm supposed to find out who. Like the moron can't see it for himself."

"Val, don't talk about your dad like that; he's a cool guy!" Tucker argued.

"Not dad, the bozo she likes. Apparently she's been giving off lots of signals to whoever it is, and he's too dense."

"Maybe Sam should talk to her." Tucker grinned. "Ow!" He jumped up from the table, rubbing his butt. "Danny!"

"What?" He asked innocently, looking off at some random patch of ceiling. Sam smirked. A blue mist shot from his mouth. Danny's eyes widened.

"A ghost? Here?" Val stared. And off to the side, a senior with oddly red eyes tensed slightly, looking around nervously.

"That's something." She commented, looking around for any signs of ghostly activity. "Most of them are too smart to show up right next to you." Danny nodded absently. A freakishly high power rating would do that.

"So who is it?" Tucker asked quietly, looking around. "Someone powerful?"

"Someone stupid?" Sam asked scathingly.

"SOMEONE WHO'LL DEAL OUT A HEAPING HELPING OF DOOM?!"

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"Activation in five, four, three, two…"

There was a blinding burst of eerie green light. Moments later, the cheerful female voice spoke out again.

"Ghost portal fully active and stabilized, Honeycakes." Maddie's face grinned up from the nearby computer console. Vlad Masters scoffed.

"Yes, yes, that's wonderful. Now tell me how things are going in Wisconsin." The Maddie program beamed.

"With the DOW on the up, MasterSoft hit record stock value earlier this week, capping off at an impressive…"

"Not the money!" He snapped. "How are the genetic tests going?"

"All samples dead, sir." She responded in the same brisk, cheerful voice.

"Gah!" He screamed, throwing a random lab device against the wall, where it shattered. Snarling, he quickly ascended the narrow staircase and closed the secret door behind him to plop down in his study.

"Shall we run further tests, sir?" The console beside him asked.

"Yes, yes." He muttered tiredly. "Twenty on completely new parameters and twenty on variations of the last batch."

"Right away, Snickerdoodles!" She announced cheerily. "We'll have results in…"

"One week, I know." He muttered, sinking back in his seat. "Oh well, at least that idiot Walker is performing as planned. Finally."

Grimacing, he slowly pulled up the various surveillance devices he'd planted in the Fenton home during reconstruction. Nothing new; just that idiot Jack and dear sweet Maddie working on the latest in ecto-weapons.

Wait. What was that?

Curious, Vlad activated the zoom feature, and panned in on the strangest looking laser he'd ever seen. It seemed positively gutted; all of its wiring exposed, no protective shell or casing…but it was new. And it didn't have the word 'Fenton' on it.

"What's this?"

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S started from the first good sleep he'd had in weeks by the sound of squealing tires and a sudden, irresistible need to fly towards the front of his seat. It said a lot when the best sleep you'd had in weeks was in the back of a moving car.

"Sigma, report!" He called out hoarsely as he pushed himself back into his seat.

"No injuries sir! Pedestrian!" Blinking in surprise, S rolled down his window. Standing in front of him was a young woman. She seemed familiar. Though the glare she was giving him didn't. He'd almost swear her eyes were glowing.

"Where do you think you're going in that thing?" She shouted angrily, marching towards the car. "Don't you have any respect for the right-of-way affording pedestrian traffic? Article one, paragraph five, subsection E of the…" She froze, eyes widening.

"Oh! You're with the Guys in White!" She said in surprise, beaming. "I'm such a fan! Your discipline, your dedication, your ridiculously long and complicated rule book…" She stopped by the window.

"Er, who are you?" S asked, at a loss.

"Why I'm W-er, Tiffany. Reporter Tiffany Snow." She said, smiling. "I suppose I _wasn't_ looking for traffic, I'm not used to needing to. I was just heading over to the Master's estate." S blinked.

"Really? Could you give me directions? I've been meaning to talk with him myself?" Now it was the woman's turn to be nonplussed. A sly grin worked its way across her face.

"Hmm. Well I could use another witness for my chat with him. To, um, confirm that I don't make anything up. Perhaps we could go together?" S popped the door open.

"So, what brings you to Vlad Masters?" S asked curiously. Tiffany grinned, showing – in S's opinion – too many teeth.

"Probably the same thing as you, sir." She purred. "Ghosts."

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"Where is he?!" The Lunch Lady shrieked as she hurtled pieces of food off of the tables to pelt the helpless, fleeing students. "Where is my Boxy?"

A few knives flew out of the kitchen towards one of the few students who'd stayed behind. Without even thinking, Danny ran towards him as fast as he could and landed in a flying tackle, knocking him to the floor just as the knives flew over to stick into the far wall.

"And I told Kevin I didn't play football." Danny muttered, not noticing a red light flare and then abruptly leave the student's eyes as he rolled away. "Are you okay?" Whoever he was, he seemed dizzy. But that might have been the tackle.

"I…I think so." He answered. "Where am I?" Before he could even comment, the kid passed out.

"Great." Danny muttered as he pushed him back down and pulled them both behind a table. "I gave him a concussion." The two watched as more sharp pointy things and chunks of cafeteria food substitute flew through the air.

"Sam!" Tucker called, dodging a barrage of salad bar vegetables and pulling out a stick of green lipstick. "Take her on the left, we'll box her in!"

"BOX?" The demented old lady shrieked. "You have him!" She accused, sending her whole arsenal at Tucker, who yelped and jumped over the table Danny was using as a shield. "Give him back to me!"

"Boxy?" Danny mouthed at Tucker as his friend righted himself.

"Dude, I don't want to know." He said shortly before looking back up. Sam was dodging between tables and a few straggling students, fumbling with a thermos. There was no way she'd get close enough on her own.

A loud whirring filled the room.

"About time!" Tucker called out as the Red Huntress zoomed in.

"Shut up and help out!" She shouted, tossing him one of her ecto-guns.

"She digs me." Tucker said to Danny as he jumped up and continued around to the right, with Valerie now in the center, pressing the attack and defending Sam, who only had the thermos and no weapons.

Danny stood and prepared to run to the right to help even things out, when a student standing by the far wall caught his eye. It was the only corner that his friend's weren't covering, and the Lunch Lady was bearing down on him, ready to try and run for a better position. Knives halted in midair and turned towards their new target. And he was just _standing_ there.

Groaning, Danny pushed himself up from the floor and shot across the room, running as fast as he could. Pain exploded along his right side as he knocked the idiot off his feet and slammed him into the floor. Seconds later, the barrage of knives and foods clattered to the floor as Sam pulled the Lunch Lady into the thermos.

"Give me back my boooooooxxxyyyyyyy."

"What kept you?" Tucker asked incredulously as Val disengaged her suit. Valerie scowled.

"Paulina was in the restroom with her small army of girl-slaves. I had to use one of those stupid recordings of yours to get them to run off."

"Gassy bathroom?" Sam guessed.

"Actually, it was of him singing." Sam shuddered.

"Danny, you okay?" Tucker asked as the three of them ran up. Danny winced as he felt his side. Red blood was leaking out.

"I'll be alright." He said, grimacing. "Check the idiot first."

"Out cold." Val commented as she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Well, that's better than shishkabobed." Danny stated flatly, pushing himself up into a sitting position and pulling away his shirt. A long, deep red gash ran down his entire side.

"Ouch." Sam said, wincing.

"It's okay." Danny said bracingly. "Look, it's already clo…clo…" All the color drained from his face. Along the cut, skin folded together and fused closed as blood either dried or went back in. Danny's breath became quick and shallow, and his eyes rolled up in his head.

"Danny? DANNY?"

Distracted as they were, none of them really cared why the kid Danny saved had been stupid enough to stand in the middle of a ghost fight. Clutched tightly in his hand, a small camera phone flashed.


	9. A New Understanding

Hello, all. Yes, this is really a new chapter. Seriously.

Okay, since it's been so long (too long. again) I should probably give a quick update on where/when we are here. Everything in this chapter takes place between the beginning of Danny's lunch period and early evening on Monday. And a lot happens. I know you're probably irritated with being left with that big cliffie at the end of the last chapter. To apologize, I'm cleaning that up and giving you three new ones. Please don't kill me.

If it makes you feel better, I just got back from spring break (no connection for my laptop, so I've sort of had this one for a while) and have finished editing this and a few future chappies. (Probably didn't catch everything. Please alert me of any thrice-cursed homophones) So I HAVE more chapters ready. There will be no waiting on inspiration. Barring some sort of horrible death or maiming, I will have the next updates posted on Friday and Sunday. Then I'll be back on inspiration again, but I don't think it'll be a serious problem. I know where the story is going, I just haven't been able to write lately. But that was before I experienced a spiritual epiphany. It's called a tea shop. You know how God was supposed to rest on the seventh day? He rested in a tea shop. It's amazing what a cozy atmosphere and a steaming cup of Dragonwell Green does for the muses. That or the caffeine; I'm not entirely sure. In short, I intend to milk this awesome revelation of experience for all its worth and give you chapters. Huzzah!

Now, special thanks to my super-patient, nice, understanding, forgiving reviewers. (Please dont' hurt me) Sasia93, Warrior of winds, Diamond Raider, bluename, "April B.", The Fluff Ghost, kitain9, cordria, Nobody Famous, Funkatron, Me-against-the-world, Quacked Lurker, FantomoDrako, "auenm", cariadiorarua, wfea, Rob Phantom, magpie8spook, Nonasuki-chan, Adran06, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, fan-girls2.0, Grumbles, Unrealistic, Ginny of Queenscove, Fan-Fic-CC27, Nikky Phantom of the Opera, egyptianqueen777, acosta perez jose ramiro, Queen S of Randomness 016, ShiroAndFubuki, BadCatGirl, "Pyrotechnic", AirGirl Phantom, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Epona Harper, Esme Kali Phantom, dizappearinggirl, SilverScreech, tony64, LiLIndianPrinzess, ChatterPuncher, Narjala, and Shadewolf7.

Finally, I got myself a Yahoo! Instant Messenger thingy. I am HiddenAuthor2000. If you wanna talk about stories, plots, etcetera, please look me up!

Later!

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A New Understanding

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Biology class. Last period before underclassman lunch. And with the way Kevin was ignoring her, Dani was pretty sure she was eating alone.

"Um, Kevin?" He didn't even look up from his last pre-test note cram. She sank in her seat, feeling very much like she had for the year she spent as a puddle of slime.

"What?" He _was_ listening. That was a start at least.

"I'm, well, sorry. For how I...uh..."

"Totally ditched me?" Kevin asked dully, looking up from his work. Dani flushed.

"Yeah. Look, I sort of saw some of Danny's friends watching us, and I sort of freaked out, and..." Kevin held up a hand, cutting off her half-truth.

"It's always a spy, or a panic attack, or a sudden urge for soup. I've barely met you, and half the time I can't tell if you like me or not. You seem to be working pretty hard to get away from me." He muttered.

"No, I like you!" Dani insisted, turning to face him directly. "Really. I wanted to say yes, I really did. Please try and understand?" Kevin shook his head.

"That's just it; I don't understand. I don't get you, Dani." He looked back at his notes. "I thought about it a lot after you bailed on me. The truth is, I don't think I can go out with someone I don't know." Dani sank slightly.

"I want you to get to know me." She muttered. "It's just really tough." Kevin shrugged.

"It doesn't have to be." He said shortly, still looking at his notes. Though Dani didn't see his eyes moving. "It's simple. 'Hi, I'm Kevin. I have a spazzy younger brother and a single dad who can't cook.' Now you." Dani winced.

"I'm Dani." She answered dully. "I haven't been around other people much, and don't really have any friends. My family's big on keeping secrets, and I'm not very good at talking to other people. And I'm really, _really_ sorry about what I did to you." Kevin pursed his lips.

"It's a start." He conceded finally. He looked back up and gave a small smile. "I'd be happy to be your first friend. But for a while, I think we'd better stay there." On the other side of the room, the teacher's reading lamp bulb exploded.

"I'd like that." Dani said. So they weren't dating. But friends was a good start, right? As long as the other Fentons didn't do anything really weird for a few days and scare him off. Kevin smiled.

"Class," their teacher called out, looking bemusedly at his lamp, "that's long enough. Put away your notes."

"Good luck." Dani whispered as the tests were passed back.

"Don't need it." Kevin answered. "I've got this really smart new friend. She's a great tutor."

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"My...field agents are all over the news." Tiffany said, smiling sweetly at a slightly bemused Vlad masters. S blinked. He hadn't listened to many conversations this vague. Except around Masters. Or the Fentons.

"Oh?" Vlad asked, shooting a sideways glance at who Tiffany had introduced as 'one of those wonderful Guys in White agents.' "What stories would those be?"

"Several downtown lawyers have been acting strangely. Judges too." Snow answered. Letting convicted criminals off without bail, verdicts that make no sense. Two lawyers even locked a bailiff in a closet!" S could swear he almost saw Masters smirk for a second, but his expression quickly turned shocked.

"Oh dear! How terrible. Well we must look into this immediately! I'll contact Mr. Gray at Tower 1, and see if we can get someone to investigate. Perhaps Phantom. He's always been effective, and I would like to show I have full confidence in him." S scowled. Show whom? Phantom, or the public? He was pretty sure there was no love lost between Phantom and Masters, so this was obviously politics. And the conversation was still very odd. It was almost like Snow was reporting to Masters, rather than interviewing him.

"Phantom?" Tiffany deadpanned, locking gazes with Vlad. "Are you sure you want to use him? Certainly there are several _human_ officials that could do just as well."

"I'm sure Phantom would do nicely." Vlad said shortly. S's frown deepened. Something was wrong here.

"Masters, with all due respect," he cut in, "I really must ask you a few questions regarding your actions in Amity." Tiffany scowled, but Vlad held up a suppressing hand.

"No no, dear lady." He said with a slight smirk. "I'm sure this will take no time at all. Feel free to come back on your own later in the afternoon. I assure you I will give you the information you're after, just as soon as I get this new situation sorted out." Tiffany's eyes narrowed, but a moment later the woman walked stiffly from the room. Vlad smiled apologetically at S.

"I'm very sorry about that, my good man. I really must speak with Miss Snow again later, but of course pressing ghost concerns must come first. What is it you need?"

"What are you up to?" S asked bluntly. Vlad blinked, and quickly put on a vaguely patronizing smile.

"I'm not sure I understand the question. Certainly you know that I am running for mayor, and am refunding the ghost towers."

"Yes." S said shortly. "Just like I know you've done almost no campaigning. This recent trouble at the law offices sounds very convenient. I can't prove you caused this latest problem, but I don't approve of you taking advantage of it to sway public opinion." Vlad's expression turned to one of mild hurt.

"Really, officer, what a terrible thing to say. I'm as upset about Amity's ghost problems as anyone. More perhaps, since these things wouldn't be happening anymore if my original towers had stayed up."

"_Your_ towers?" S asked quickly. Vlad's eyes flashed.

"Amity Park's towers, which I funded but were run by my employee Smith. An unfortunate choice." He clarified. "Really, sir, such unfounded accusations are most irregular, epecially considering you are a guest in my home. Though I suppose you can't help yourself," he allowed with a theatrical sigh, "considering your previous habits of slander with that 'Spook' paper of yours."

"That was business." S stated cooly.

"And so is this. Now if you are through leveling unwarrented claims, I really do need to attend to this crisis. The people of this city need me." S stood and walked crisply to the door.

"Fine, Masters. I can't prove you're manipulating these people. But remember," he finished as he opened the door, "it was you, not me, that said this latest crisis was being caused by ghosts. I wonder how you could be so sure."

Vlad glared at the closed door for some time. Slowly, his hand stretched out across his desk. But he didn't grip his phone. Instead, he activated a small cube, which fortunately resembled a paperweight. He made a mental note to 'discuss' prior warning of guests with Walker when the ungrateful treacherous warden returned.

"Vat do you vant, Masters?" The pair of vulture ghosts asked, shooting angry glares at the ghost-proof containment device.

"I have a mission for you. Finish and I will free your last companion. An agent was just in my home. He is very clever. You are to dispatch him without revealing I was involved. Your friend's existence depends on your discretion. Go."

A flurry of wings and angry squawks later, and Vlad was once again reaching across his desk, this time for the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Gray. Ah, you remember me. I'm calling to report that there have been several incidents with the Amity Park legal system. I strongly suspect that ghosts are invovled. Yes, I think you should send someone to look right away. As I recall, Phantom is quite talented at detecting and expelling ghosts." The smug smile fell off his face.

"What do you mean 'unavailable'?"

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"Danny?" Shadows swirled across his vision. His head felt like it had been run over by a truck, and he actually knew what that felt like. He winced, but didn't rub his head. He didn't have enough energy to move his arms.

"Danny?" Oh, right. He should open his eyes again. Slowly blurs of shadow turned into colors and then into people. He smiled at the familiar purple eyes.

"Hey Sam." He smiled deliriously. "I just figured something out. I have disguise powers. I can use those to change my hair. Duh. Ha...ha..." A steady beep reached his ears. He tensed slightly, an impressive feat considering he felt like a puddle of goop. Something else he actually knew about.

"Where are we?" He asked, a slight quiver in his voice. He was in a hospital. Hospitals had doctors. Doctors ran tests, like checking temperatures and high-tech DNA scans and horrible probes and..."

"Relax. We're at your house. Tucker convinced Mr. Lancer that you'd been attacked by the Lunch Lady and your parents would know more about ghost attack wounds."

"Pretty impressive, considering you were barely breathing at the time." Tucker piped up from the other side of the bed. Danny felt himself relax slightly. Dissection was no longer an immediate danger. He could focus on other things, like-

"What happened?" He groaned.

"Well, after your side closed up you just sort of fell down." Tucker supplied. "You were really pale. Would have been cool if you hadn't almost died. Again."

"I knew _that_." Danny said sharply. "I want to know _why_ I 'just sort of fell down.' I mean, I barely lost any blood. I didn't hit my head." He winced. "I think. So what happened?"

"Healing powers." Jack answered as he sat down next to the other two. He looked really pale. Maddie joined him a second later, and replaced a hanging IV. "You've been out for hours now. Damon called; we had to tell him you were recovering from a ghost fight. Phantom you, I mean."

Danny closed his eyes, trying to focus. It was surprisingly hard, considering he was now very used to operating on almost zero sleep.

"I'm confused. I passed out because I _didn't _lose any blood?" Maddie frowned, and felt his forehead.

"Healing takes energy, sweetie." She said softly as she dropped a cool cloth on his head. Danny felt like sitting up to take things in better, but that felt _really_ good, and seemed to be helping his headache.

"Ghosts are simple, physically. They're all ectoplasm, formed into bodies with energy. That's why so many of them have healing powers, and are so tough. Repairing themselves doesn't take much. But now your human body is trying to do the same thing. All of those cells, all of the complex molecules, the structures...it takes a lot to make that happen, and your body sucked the life out of you to do it." Danny winced.

"So I almost...because of _healing_ powers? Not my dangerous powers, but the one that was supposed to be good for me?" Jack nodded, frowning, but Maddie quickly shook her head.

"Oh no, sweetie, the healing _is _good, so long as you're a ghost, or it isn't serious. You'll just have to be a bit more careful as a human."

"But when I get really hurt as a ghost, I turn _into_ a human." Danny pointed out. Both of his parents winced.

"We'll...have to figure something out. But don't worry, you're better now and you should be good as new by tomorrow morning." But Danny pushed back their hands and started sitting up.

"But what about Mr. Gray? You said there was ghost trouble. He needed _me_." Jack firmly pushed him back onto the bed.

"Your mother and I are going out now to sort it out. We'd stay with you, but the tip came from Vlad." Danny stared. "He asked specifically for you to look into it. Whatever he's up to, none of us want to send an ordinary officer in there. It's too risky." Danny winced, but nodded. He couldn't face something _Vlad_ had cooked up in this condition.

"We're taking Tucker along, to field test the Protopusher." Danny cocked an eyebrow. "That invention of his. The problem seems to involve people being overshadowed. It's probably the safest way to extract the ghosts." Picking up the device in question, Jack laid a comforting hand on his wife – who still hadn't left the bedside – and shuffled towards the stairs, pointedly ignoring his slight limp. Danny turned his bemused expression on Tucker.

"Protopusher?" Tucker turned red.

"What do you expect when your parents name stuff?" Sam retorted. "At least it's not 'Fenton' something."

"Actually," Tucker mumbled, shuffling on his feet, "I named it." Danny stared at him, and involuntarily grinned.

"I guess I don't have to worry about becoming my dad anymore. You've got it covered."

"Shut up." Tucker said with all the dignity he could muster and marched crisply for the stairs. Sam grinned.

"Tell you what. You're feeling awful..."

"No question."

"So why don't I head upstairs and heat up some chicken soup? I'm no great chef, but I think I can work your parent's microwave without bringing the food to life." Danny smirked, and gestured for the stairs. Sam deftly plucked up the cloth from his face and dipped it into a cool bowl of water, giving him a quick kiss of the forehead before reapplying it and walking upstairs with everyone else.

"Disguise powers." Danny muttered. "Of course I'd have to be delirious to think of something that obvious. I am such a moron." He paused, and glanced thoughtfully at the stairs. "A moron who's girlfriend is going to spoon-feed him chicken soup and kiss his forehead." He smiled contentedly and leaned back into his pillow. "I can live with that."

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Tiffany Snow was used to having inside information about other peoples' lives. What she wasn't used to was needing information about her own. For example, what had she been doing for the last several hours? It was all a red, hazy blur. She looked down suspiciously at the stack of printed documents in front of her. Articles about odd behavior around the city that she had apparently written. The Fentons had taken care of it, quickly ejecting countless ghosts from judges, lawyers, and average city people with a small, odd-looking device. Or at least, that's what the article said. Tiffany shuddered again; she wasn't supposed to have to read about what she did from an article.

"I need a vacation." She muttered as she sent the text to her editor for a once-over before it would be fed into a teleprompter for the evening news.

Ghosts. Always it was ghosts or ghost hunters around here. Destruction, chaos, people being controlled. She needed a break. Silently Snow made a resolution to tone down on the ghost stuff for a few days. The last thing she needed was another story about spooks or the weirdoes that hunted them.

"Tiff!" Lance Thunder shouted excitedly as he barged into her _private_ room, waving a small device in his hand. "You have to see this!"

"Lance," she said with determined calm, "if those are more photos of your vacation to Colorado last month, you'd better back away slowly, because I am in _no_-"

"It's not that! You have to see this!" Frowning with frustration, Tiffany grabbed the small device – it was a phone- from Thunder and started scanning the pictures. Slowly, a look of awe and dawning comprehension passed across her face. Quickly, she paged her editor.

"Yes, I already received your articles, Miss Snow." Came the polite reply. "I'll have them ready in-"

"Never mind that!" She said shortly. "I have a new main story." Sure, she'd have to break that resolution of hers, but you didn't become a lead reporter by having lots of self restrictions.

"I think a certain famous ghost fighter is about to be unmasked." She said excitedly. "And you'll never guess who it is!"

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Anne scowled from her rooftop perch as she looked down on the zoo. One of the keepers had apparently gone nuts and started letting animals out of their cages. Gray had ordered her and Huntress to save anyone who became endangered by the rampaging animals, but to take no action against the keeper himself. He'd refused to explain why, except that it might be some sort of elaborate trap and that he was sending reinforcements to take care of him.

Red slowly floated up into view and looked around at the park. Although her face was hidden, Anne could tell by how tense she was that she was annoyed too. But she'd seemed cool and tense since they'd first paired up an hour ago. Hoss pushed the irrational resentment aside. Huntress wasn't used to working with agents, or to taking orders. She was pretty sure it wasn't anything personal.

"All clear?" She asked, more to make conversation than anything else. Besides, if she was ever going to understand this girl, she'd at least have to talk with her.

"Yeah." She said shortly, scanning back and forth. "You didn't see any more problems?" For the last hour, Anne had watched from high up on the building, and given warnings and instructions to the Huntress as she swooped through the zoo on her jet board. At last, it seemed that the last of the civilians had managed to escape.

"Nothing. The keeper himself hasn't even tried to flee."

"Why would he?" Huntress asked, shooting the man in question what Anne _knew_ was a dark look. "The ghost inside him doesn't have to worry about the police arresting him, and by now he's figured out that _we _aren't going to do anything." Anne cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm sure Damon has his reasons." She commented mildly.

"Oh yeah, he always has his reasons." Huntress muttered. Sighing, the girl flew over to the roof and retracted the sled. The two sat and watched for danger and 'reinforcements' in silence for several minutes.

"You're a very independent young woman." Anne finally said. Red shrugged.

"I guess. I don't mind getting or giving help; at least I don't mind so much anymore. But I don't like being used." She growled. "I've been used too much already." Anne blinked.

"Someone was using you? What do you mean?" Red turned to look down at the zoo again.

"I don't really want to talk about it. The guy that did it; he gave me my weapons and used me to attack Phantom. I was really mad at him back then, and he used that, doing things to make me hate him more, giving me better weapons..." She shuddered. "The worst part is, Phantom's a great guy. We could have been great friends back then, maybe even more, but all I wanted was to destroy him." Anne blinked in surprise.

"You'd consider a relationship with a ghost?" Red started for a second.

"No, I...well, Phantom's a special case. But it doesn't matter now. There's too much bad history there, and he isn't interested in being more than friends."

"I'm sorry." She said. "I know how that can feel." Huntress shrugged.

"Don't be. I moved on. Met another guy. He's sweet, smart, funny..." She laughed. Anne smiled in surprise. So she _was_ just a regular girl under the armor and death rays. "Funny thing is, I would have never noticed he liked me unless he'd plucked up the guts to just say so. Well, I mean, I knew he _liked_ me, just not that way." Anne frowned. That was a bit _too_ close to her own problems.

"Sometimes it can be hard to tell someone something like that." She said. "Especially if you don't know how the other person feels. Sometimes you're not willing to risk what you already have." Red turned and looked directly at her. Or at least Anne thought she was looking directly at her. It was hard to tell for sure.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about. So you like some guy?" Anne shrugged.

"I guess, but it's a lot more complicated than that. If things didn't work, we'd still have to work together. And he has a family already; what if I can't fit in? Besides," she muttered, "he barely sees me as more than a hard-working officer."

"Sounds like a real jerk to me." Red commented. "You should tell him. And if his family has trouble at first, tough. You should give it a shot, and if he likes you back he'll try to make sure it works." Anne pursed her lips, but then motion below caught her eye.

"It's the Fentons!" She said, then blinked in surprise. "And that Foley boy's with them." Red's head whipped around and took in the scene. "I wonder what he's doing here. Well, I heard he's dating Damon's daughter." She reasoned. "And he's supposed to be a decent ghost hunter." Red looked back at her in surprise. "Damon told me. We've seen him help you out once or twice."

"Like I said, I take help once and a while." Red offered, though she sounded a bit edgy.

"At least he didn't bring the girl with him." Anne commented. "Damon seems to worry about her a lot; it wouldn't be very considerate to drag her into trouble."

"She can handle herself." Red commented shortly as she clicked her heels together and swooped off. Anne watched bemusedly as she and Tucker started talking animatedly to each other as Mr. Fenton hit the keeper with a strange pulsing green ray.

"Huh. I wonder if Damon knows how cozy his daughter's boyfriend is getting with Red." She murmured.

That might not be a good thing. If his daughter was having relationship trouble, now might not be a good time to confess to him. Still, what Red had said had merit. If only she'd break things off with Foley and stick with that mysterious boyfriend of hers. Or Phantom. The way things were, any future she might have with Damon was bound to be a real mess.

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"WULF!" Writer was surprised that the apartment didn't shake. Granted, Ember's voice had lost a lot of its power a few years ago, but it hadn't done much for her temper. Nor was he about to stand up and give it another target. He just smiled apologetically at his hairy friend and nursed his cup of tea.

Seconds later he winced as his dainty, lovely little flower nearly tore her door from its hinges and stomped down the hall, her flaming hair licking dangerously close to the ceiling.

"What is wrong?" Wulf asked, completely at a loss, as he tossed a few more ingredients into a stew pot.

"What's wrong?" Ember asked sarcastically. When Wulf continued to look confused, Ember grabbed at her sleeve and shoved the clothing under his nose. It was covered in black fur.

"_That_'s what's wrong!" She shouted. "The stuff is all over my room, you big furball!" Wulf winced. "What's wrong with you?" Wulf mumbled.

"What?" Ember glared. Writer sat up, now taking an active interest. If Wulf was getting sick...

"I am shedding." Wulf confessed, looking very ashamed of himself. Ember's hair flared again briefly.

"Shedding." She said coldly. "And you couldn't mention this _before_?"

"It is early this time." Wulf said helplessly. "Moving to the human world must have done this. I did not know."

"Well unless you want to be a _bald_ wolf, you'd better keep your fur _off of my_-"

"Ember. Enough." Writer said calmly. Ember, surprisingly, calmed down almost at once and looked over at him.

"It isn't his fault; he honestly didn't know. Wulf," he continued, looking at his chagrined friend, "there's no need to be ashamed about shedding; it's completely normal for you. I'll get you some medicated shampoo tomorrow to help. In the meantime, we should probably let someone else cook." Ember's eyes went immediately to yesterday's dishes and she turned slightly green. Wulf nodded, still looking a bit embarrassed.

"Ember, tomorrow I want you to start picking up the simple ghost items we stored at your place. I've heard rumors that Walker's been away for a while, so you should be able to collect them safely. We need the store to look as nice as possible for the grand opening on Wednesday." Ember nodded.

"I'm going to stop by the high school and local news tomorrow and make some announcements about the opening. Thank goodness things have stayed quiet this week, we don't need any big ghost problems right now."

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Sigma stirred from his half-doze in the driver's seat of the GIW car. His operative communicator was buzzing. Groaning, he reached over and grabbed it.

"Sigma."

"Who?" Came the crisp reply on the other end. "We are looking for an unnamed agent. This is his communicator."

"Oh, yes sir!" He said briskly, snapping a salute before he remembered he wouldn't be seen. "Sigma is what S calls me, sir!"

"Ah, so it _is_ you, then." Came the reply. "Report, agent. What is your location?"

"Amity Park, sir." He said. "Agent S has commissioned me to drive him through the city. We have visited the Masters estate, a local convenience store, the Nasty Burger, and are currently parked in front of FentonWorks. Agent S is inside now."

"Very good, agent. Be advised, the remainder of this message is classified. You are not to repeat any of this to anyone. S does not need to be briefed on or informed of this communication. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir." He said shortly. A real mission!

"While going over the back reports of the 'Spook' incident, we stumbled on a small notation at the end regarding technologies used at the Towers. It was amended to an expanded description of the events surrounding agent M's death. The note regards a Fenton device, designed to convert ectoplasm into electricity. The departments of energy and defense are both highly interested in this technology, but it seems that no formal patent or blueprint was ever logged with our government."

"Further, due to certain...contingencies...developed by the department of defense, Amity Park has gained strategic military importance. You are to survey the city and its infrastructure, especially any and all ghosts that either haunt the city or visit regularly, Phantom included, and report this information directly to me. My frequency has been remotely uploaded into your communicator, along with an encryption program."

"Get us the information, and get us the generator. And we will give you a letter."

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Bartus was worried. He played a dangerous game, one that could easily get him killed.

In the beginning, he had joined Masters not for the money, but the security. Vlad had power. Not nearly so much as Pariah did, but a formidable amount. And more than that, Vlad had ambition. Bartus remembered the death and chaos that filled the Great War all those long years ago, when he and his brothers on the council had risen up to destroy the Ghost King. Giving Vlad special treatment, provided he was not given authority over other ghosts, went a long way to preventing him from declaring a revolt.

It was only when Masters had attempted to seize the Crown and Ring of the ancient lord of ghosts that Bartus had truly worried. He had almost been grateful that Clockwork had revealed his 'treachery' and had him removed from power, for he had doubted his own judgment. But that time was past. Now he understood the true danger.

Phantom. He had heard the rumblings within the ghost zone, spreading rumors of his power, and what it could mean for the future. The boy was a threat, and all of the council realized it now. But Clockwork, the old meddler, had tied their hands. They were forced to sit and watch as the boy grew in power almost every day, his threat balanced out by a time paradox that would have them fight an army if they destroyed him.

And now Masters was essentially powerless, grasping at some political office in a desperate hope to increase his influence over the boy. While the man was obviously a threat, Bartus almost wished he still had his power, if only to keep Phantom's in check.

It was up to him. The security of the council depended on this act of treachery. The artifacts had been created by the council to wrest the skeleton army from Pariah's control, but Clockwork's choice had rendered them useless. However, their power was such that the Council had ordered them destroyed when the war was finished. Ever the pragmatist, Bartus had kept two. One had been stolen over a hundred years ago by a human mystic, and he had worked tirelessly to cover up its existence until it was destroyed, ironically, by Phantom. The other he kept in the darkest depths of his lair.

It was an option of last resort. He would not use it now, he promised himself. It would never see the light of day unless war touched the Ghost Zone once again. It could raise the armies of Pariah's skeletons and give its wielder absolute control over them. But of course, as the councilors who had ordered its destruction knew, it could also wrest control of the minds of weaker ghosts and influence the more powerful.

Bartus looked down at the red glowing staff, the last of the weapons to survive both the war and the ever-fearful council's edicts.

No, he would not use it. Not yet.

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"People of Amity Park, this is Tiffany Snow with a breaking news story. A local high school student has photographed a shocking ghost battle that took place today at Casper High School. But the story I am telling you is not about the ghost. It is about ghost hunters. They have been going to school with our children, their actions and heroism kept secret from the world. And now we have proof of their identities. Photographic proof."

"People of Amity Park, I give you Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson. Ghost Hunters."


	10. An Unwanted Spotlight

For those of you unaware, was not allowing posts for most of yesterday. I swear, I honestly tried to get this up. Loud, angry words were shouted at a computer screen. Medication dosages were upped. Etc. To fix this delay situation, I will now post THIS chapter today, post what I wanted to post today on Wednesday, and should have yet another chapter finished, edited, and ready to post by either Friday or Saturday. I hope that will work.

Alright, this one is kinda short and slowish, besides a nice fight scene. Mostly it covers all the stuff that's important that happened during the last chapter that I didn't cover before, plus some stuff a little later. Next chapter we get into some serious reactions! Ghost Council, Military, S, Families, and...do I hear ticking:D I'll post that Wednesday. In the meantime, hope ya like this one! Also, for the record, Dani is not obsessively jealous of Val. It just comes out that way. You'll see later on. (Yay subplot!)

Thanks and love to all reviewers! Thanks to hermie-the-frog, Nubecula, Quacked Lurker, Sasia93, egyptianqueen777, DiamondRaider, Me-against-the-world, ShiroAndFubuki, FantomoDrako, Kittygirl3245, Adran06, Grumbles, cordria, Nobody Famous, uula, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, Chaos Dragon, acosta perez jose ramiro, Warrior of Winds, dizappearingirl, dannyp14, Queen S of Randomness 016, wfea, The Fluff Ghost, cariadiorarua, Epona Harper, UlrichxYumi DannyxSam 4ever, Unrealistic, bluename, and Nonasuki-chan. I love you all! And for those of you who missed the disguise trick right along with Danny, now worries! He HAD the power and forgot... XP

See ya on Wednesday, with a longer, more intense chapter,

HiddenAuthor

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An Unwanted Spotlight

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"I can't believe they didn't tell me!" Dani shouted out loud for what was probably the fifth time since school got out. Kevin absently rubbed his ear as he jogged lightly beside her. Valerie shrugged; it couldn't really be helped. After all, Valerie Gray wasn't anywhere near the ghost battle between the Red Huntress and Lunch Lady. So how could she have known anything?

"They probably didn't want you to miss any more school." Kevin reasoned. "I mean, didn't you spend most of last year as a ghost's hostage or something?" Dani scowled.

"I was skipped ahead anyway!" She argued – loudly. "Besides, I was out cold the whole time! It's not like I'm traumatized or anything. My cousin gets knocked out in the middle of lunch, and I don't find out until Lancer says something on the way home!" Several small lawn gnomes on a nearby lawn decided to mysteriously start floating for a second, and Valerie quickly dropped a hand on Dani's shoulder. Her wrist-watch beeped.

"Darn it!" She growled. "I forgot; dad wants me to start that...er, project today." She turned and impressively replaced an irritated scowl with a concerned expression for a second.

"Let me know how he is, okay?" Dani nodded as Val turned to run off.

"Hey!" Kevin said suddenly. Val froze. "Your dad works with the Red Huntress right?" The older girl slowly nodded, not daring to turn around. Not only would her expression have been a bit off, she didn't even remotely want to see Dani's face.

"Could you get me her autograph?" The concrete under Dani's feet decided to melt slightly.

"Um, I don't think she does that." Val answered cautiously.

"Come one, just a try? Please?" He asked, grinning enthusiastically. Sighing, Val looked at her watch and nodded.

"Fine. I'll try. Later!" And without waiting for more requests, she took off as fast as she could.

"That is so cool." Kevin said enthusiastically as he turned around. "Working with Huntress...actually talking with her. I wonder what that's like." Dani was silently grateful they were near his street so she could walk on by herself. She wasn't sure how long she could keep from blowing something up. What, he couldn't like Dani Phantom? Why was it always Valerie with him?!

"Dani?" She blinked. "What do you think that would be like?" He asked again. She shrugged absently and took another determined step to his stop.

"I don't know. It's probably not that different from talking with Val or me." She answered casually.

"But she fights ghosts!" He exclaimed. "She must have all these cool stories, and..."

"Look, Kevin." Dani interrupted. "I need to hurry home and see if Danny's alright. See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Uh, sure." He answered quickly, nodding. His eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Dani! Are you really annoyed at me?" Dani started in surprise. He'd noticed? Maybe he wasn't that dense after all.

"Why would I be annoyed?" She asked casually. "You obviously like the Red Huntress. She's pretty, talented, and cool. I get it." There. A bit obvious, but whatever works...

"But I didn't ask her to get an autograph for you!" He groaned. "Forgive me?"

"ARRGGH!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and jogging off. Jerk.

Blue mist shot from her mouth, bringing her to a quick stop a few blocks away. Looking up at the sky through narrowed eyes, she spied two familiar green vultures, flapping over a nondescript black sedan.

"Hello, misplaced...aggression."

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"The Fentons are doing what to your guards?" Vlad asked, nonplussed. Walker shrugged, looking annoyed.

"They're just shoving them out of the people with some...thing. I've ordered a retreat back to the Ghost Zone; we're no more use to you if we can't overshadow people. But since we did cover our half of the bargain..."

"Yes, yes." Vlad held up a suppressing hand as he fished inside his jacket. "Really Walker, show some restraint. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you didn't trust me."

Walker snorted as he caught a lightly tossed packet. Opening it, he quickly scanned the contents. His eyes flared dark red.

"HERE?" Vlad nodded.

"But...but..." Walker sputtered. He quickly calmed down and grew thoughtful. "I've heard several disturbing rumors in the Ghost Zone lately. As much as I want to bring Wulf down, this will require some thought." Vlad shrugged.

"Do whatever you like, Walker; it's no longer my concern. But please, do it somewhere else. I grow tired of your...unique charm." Walker was gone instantly. Vlad frowned.

"Something's going on. And Walker isn't talking, so it must be from high up."

For the immediate future, what Walker did with Wulf would benefit him regardless. If Wulf was outed, he'd be able to increase his argument that Amity needed him to remove the ghosts. If not, he'd do it personally on Friday, just as the polls opened. But what did Walker mean about rumors in the Ghost Zone?

He shifted uncomfortably. He was used to having constant inside information on the goings-on in the Ghost Zone. But the sudden loss of his powers had all but dried up what used to be a constant flood of gossip and rumor. Vlad doubted ghost interest would hurt his current plans, but with Amity being so closely tied to that other world...

"Computer, launch probe 5GZx. Carry a message to Bartus." Slowly, in his secret underground lab, a large new Ghost Portal opened. A small, floating sphere lifted from a nearby shelf and shot into the swirling green mist.

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"Agent, sir," the pale but otherwise healthy looking young man said from his sick bed, a slight edge to his voice, "My parents aren't here. You should probably come back later."

S maintained a carefully neutral expression and remained in his seat, shooting a quick, appraising glance at the third person in the room, her dark hair and purple eyes in particular.

"I see. Actually, I was hoping that I could have a chat with you."

"Me?" The kid squeaked for a second, then took a slow breath and was once again completely composed. "Can I ask why?"

"I suppose you can." S answered mildly, scanning the pair again with greater interest. Both extremely fit, focused, with a close psychological bond. They were absolutely calm in a room full of hundreds of powerful weapons and one government agent. The Goth scowled.

"Why do you want to talk with Danny?"

"Not just him; both of you." S clarified. "You see, I am in charge of what the Guys in White call the 'Phantom Project.' I have some questions about him I think you can help me clear up." The two of them locked gazes for a fraction of a second.

"I think my parents would be better people to ask." Danny answered slowly, pushing himself up a bit on his pillows. "I mean, they work with him." S nodded, but made sure to keep his eyes on the two. Like his earlier 'talk' with Masters and Snow, there was something a bit off here. And he was pretty sure he knew what it was.

"Normally I'd agree with you." He remarked casually. "But in this case, I must disagree. You see, I'm very interested in learning more about Phantom. And over the last several months, I've discovered many strange things about him. For instance, he seems to have formed several attachments with humans around your age."

"What exactly are you saying?" Danny asked coolly. S sighed, and relaxed, fixing him with a level stare.

"Look kid, I don't know if you'll understand this, but I've been forced to tell lies and half-truths for way too long. The only reason I'm here is because I got fed up and wanted to see if playing it straight would work."

"So let's try simple questions. None of that double-talk. Gives me a headache anyway, and I was never very good at it. Do you and your friend here spend time with Phantom, either hunting ghosts or just for recreation?"

The two were silent for a short while.

"Why don't you just try talking to Phantom?" Danny asked finally. "I mean, for someone who wants to 'play it straight', you're doing a lot of snooping behind his back."

"That wasn't an answer, but if you want me to prove I'm trying to be honest, fine." S sat back. "A few reasons. First, it's habit. Most ghosts are evil and violent, and interviews are a really stupid idea. Second, I don't think he'd want to talk to me. I was one of the guys in charge of that fiasco a few months back, and if he found out I don't see how he could ever trust me." The lights flickered for several seconds. S looked up, confused. Unbidden, that annoying blue flash passed through his mind again.

"Why should he trust you, after that?" Fenton asked, almost whispering. Sam was holding his hand, which had tightened slightly into a loose fist.

"No idea. That's why I can't ask him to." S said shortly. "I'm not proud of what I did, but I won't take it back either. Phantom is dangerous, whether he's 'evil' or not. I have a responsibility to my country and to humanity to make sure he's not a threat."

"But you never asked him!" Danny insisted shortly.

"It wasn't my job to ask questions, it was my job to come here and neutralize a ghost. That's changed. My old mission was scrapped when that shield came down. Now I'm just after information. But since I won't get Phantom to talk, I have to come to you. So I need to know if you spend time with him. That's the most honest answer I can give. Now are you going to return the favor or what?"

"No." Danny said coolly. Sam blinked for a second, but nodded.

"No." S echoed. "Any reason?"

"Phantom has the right to speak for himself. If you want to know about him, talk to him." Danny said firmly. "I think he'd listen to you." S shook his head.

"I don't. But I was planning on trying anyway. Just remember this after I leave; if the only people I can talk to don't like Phantom, what kind of conclusion do you think I'm going to reach?"

"That won't be a problem," Danny answered calmly, "because Phantom will talk to you."

"We'll see." S stood and turned towards the door. He'd have to try somewhere else. Phantom was an unlikely interview, and he needed to get some definite information.

Those two were an odd couple; he mused as he returned to his car and gave Sigma new instructions. Thankfully, his chauffeur was oddly quiet, giving him time to think. They seemed really close, but they were also hiding something. S was pretty sure they were hunting ghosts, either with or without the older Fentons' knowledge. And they obviously cared a lot about Phantom.

Because when that kid had said firmly that the ghost would listen and give him another chance despite everything he'd done, Sam had shot him one last glance. It had looked a lot like pride.

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"Vat gives?" Shouted one of the green vultures angrily as a large energy beam shot through the air beside him. Dani growled as she floated higher.

"Not as good as Huntress, huh?" She called out as she took the second bird on its wing. Crying in pain, it fell into a corkscrew dive until it was able to level off, now much lower. Gritting her teeth, Dani turned up into an aerial back flip with a half corkscrew, shooting one more beam at the large of the two before going into a steep upside-down dive after the fallen ghost.

As the higher vulture predictably shot down for her exposed stomach and chest, Dani held out her hands to project a shield. Instead, the large vulture stopped in midair, flapping its wings furiously but trapped by some unseen force. Dani cocked an eyebrow, but suddenly remembered the smaller, very angry bird she was diving at. Pushing questions aside for later, she put her hands over her head at a very awkward firing angle.

The vulture looked confident up until the last second when, instead of firing, Dani simply dissolved her form into green mist and flowed around the bird to show up on the other side, her hands now cupped in front of her for a powerful double blast.

The air filled with the scent of burning feathers.

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"This thing works like a charm!" Jack shouted, beaming, as he swerved through traffic. Maddie nodded, grinning, as Tucker hung on for dear life and marveled at how tolerant the older woman was of her husband's driving. He also resolved to practice more with his own car. He wasn't this bad, but still...maybe Sam had a point.

"And we didn't ever need to use the extended blast, so the flaky battery wasn't a problem!" Tucker beamed. It was the only major flaw of the laser's design; a long blast completely drained the battery.

"We should still try and fix it; better to fix bugs now than have to deal with them when you're in danger." Maddie commented philosophically.

"How many times do I have to apologize for that?" Jack whined. "I know the Fenton waffle-iron wasn't quite done, but I really wanted waffles. Your hair grew back!"

"I was talking to Tucker, dear." Maddie explained with a slightly sour smile. "And I've already forgiven you." Tucker grinned. His cell phone rang.

"Hello?" All of the blood drained from his face. "Mom? Dad? You saw what on TV?"

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Sam had turned her cell off. She was reclining on the gurney beside Danny, propped up on the pillows, with his arm draped over her shoulder. The fact that he needed to be taken care of was not doing a thing for her sense of helplessness.

"They know." She moaned, plopping her head into her hands. Danny nodded, not really sure what to say. "My parents know. And they were just starting to not hate you."

"It was bound to happen." Danny said shortly, looking nervous. Sam started. Duh! Now that she and Tucker were exposed...the only person who could have gotten them into ghost hunting was Danny. Of the three, Danny was the only one never seen around Phantom. Her eyes widened.

"Danny, I –" He quickly held up his hand.

"I'm safe for now." He insisted. "Let's worry about you and Tucker first."

"My parents are going to kill me." She said bitterly. Danny chuckled.

"Nah. Me, maybe, but not you. You, they'll just lock up."

"You're not helping." Sam retorted, but she felt herself grinning a little. Danny squeezed her shoulder a bit and pulled her a bit closer.

"I don't know if I can." He admitted. "This isn't good, Sam. But we've been through bad stuff before."

"They'd better not try and lock me up." Sam growled. "This is part of who I am now, just like you, and they can't make me give it up." Danny smiled slightly.

"I don't think they could lock you up if they tried. You're too strong for that." Sam blushed a bit, and leaned her head back on his arm. The 'missed messages' counter on her phone was still going up constantly, but for the moment, she was just going to stay right here.

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"Yes, people of Amity Park. Tucker Foley, son of city councilman Maurice Foley, and Samantha Manson, daughter of the affluent and esteemed Manson family, were caught on film today helping the Red Huntress to fight a large ghost in the Casper High cafeteria. Both students used various pieces of ghost-hunting technology that they wielded with incredible skill. Both families have refused to comment on their children's unique extra-curricular activities. We have few details, but will be conducting a full investigation over the rest of this week."

"What about your own children? Are they hunting ghosts, too? Is what these students are doing drawing ghostly attention to their classmates? And where did they learn to use those weapons? This is Tiffany Snow, saying that the answers will be found. Good night."


	11. A Closed Conversation

Greetings:D

Gasp! Yes, I decided to go off schedule again! But to do this EARLY for once! ;P

Here's the next chapter. Lots of stuff is going on here. Plans are made, revealed, etc. I am very pleased with this one, and thank the Dragonwell Green Tea from the bottom of my heart! Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I liked writing it!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Thanks to cordria, Warrior of winds, Nikki Phantom of the Opera, Nobody Famous, Queen S of Randomness 016, Diamond Raider, Me-against-the-world, Nubecula, bluename, hermie-the-frog, ShiroAndFubuki, acosta perez jose ramiro, SilverScreech, Quacked Lurker, Esme Kali Phantom, NNF, UlrichxYumi DannyxSam 4ever, cariadiorarua, wfea, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, Grumbles, FantomoDrako, Shadewolf7, Rob Phantom, dizappearingirl, egyptianqueen777, Chaos Dragon, and Adran06.

Also, candy and assorted doodads to anyone who figures out the source of Jazz's prof's name.

Later! XD

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A Closed Conversation

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"Your hair's going gray." Sam commented casually as she and Danny walked the short – too short – distance from his house to hers. Danny waved his hand through his hair self consciously, and rolled his eyes up, trying to see.

"Not much." Sam quickly added. "But if someone knows you well enough, they can sort of tell." Danny sighed.

"Considering the kind of stress I have, you'd think people would understand."

The hair wasn't a big deal. They both knew it. There was no way his now-white hair was showing through in under a week's worth of washes. Fading, maybe, but that wasn't serious. But if they didn't talk about his hair, they'd have to talk about why they were walking to Sam's house. And about whether her parents would ever let him see her again. Granted, as a ghost, he could get past almost any security measures they could imagine; but it was nice to just openly date as two semi-normal teenagers. But there was no question that Sam's parents now knew their daughter was out hunting ghosts. And that it was Danny that had gotten her involved.

Danny absently passed his hand through his hair once more, though this time it left pitch black strands in its wake. Sam whistled appreciatively.

"Nice trick. You gonna go au' natural?" Danny shook his head.

"Dying is safer, since I can't concentrate _all_ the time. I'll just try to keep it from fading out as fast." Sam cocked an eyebrow and faked a disgusted expression.

"Danny, I've seen your hair when it's clean. I don't think I can wrap my mind around what it would look like dirty."

"You can be really hurtful sometimes." Danny whined playfully, shooting her a small smile. She couldn't quite return it. "Besides," he finished with a sigh, "I guess if things keep up the way they are, a disguise won't matter much." And they were back to the forbidden topic.

The two walked on together in silence, standing as close as they comfortably could to each other. In only a few short minutes, it was likely that Sam's irate parents would do everything in their power to keep them apart. And despite his ghost powers, Danny couldn't help being afraid that they could.

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"The news is true?" Mrs. Foley asked in a _very_ calm voice from across the coffee table in Tucker's living room. "You've been hunting ghosts?"

Tucker nodded from his chair, shooting his dad a quick, appraising glance. His father also seemed oddly calm, though he had been throwing the Fentons strange looks since they arrived. Jack, oblivious to the atmosphere, beamed from his spot on the love seat next to Maddie.

"Does he ever!" He shouted enthusiastically, causing Mrs. Foley to involuntarily sink back into her chair. "You should see him handle a ghost bazooka! And those lasers he's invented!" Maddie's expression tightened slightly and she laid a restraining hand on her husband's arm.

"Jack, I'm sure Tucker would like to explain." She said warningly.

"Oh no, Mrs. Fenton," Tucker's mom responded, cocking an eyebrow at her son, who was for the second time in his life incredibly jealous of Danny's ability to disappear. "Please, Mr. Fenton, tell me more about the powerful weapons my son has been making."

"I was gonna tell you." Tucker cut in. Jack closed his mouth and turned to face the boy. "Eventually. It's just...I really like ghost hunting." He said firmly. "And I thought if you knew, you wouldn't let me do it. So I waited for a while. And I've gotten really good at it. I almost never get hurt, and I'm doing a lot to protect the city. Can't you guys get behind that?" Maurice Foley blinked in surprise.

"Tucker, we're not mad that you were ghost hunting." He said. Tucker stared. His mother nodded.

"We're mad that you _lied_ to us about it." She finished. "Sweetie, your father and I have always told you to do what you love; to follow your dreams. When you got into technology, we helped pay for parts, upgrades, classes, the works. We saw you enjoyed it and we helped where we could. When you started working with Mr. Gray, we gave permission to the school so they would let you start a work-study program at the Towers, designing the systems."

"We're proud of you for helping the city." Maurice continued. "And we're glad that when you started hunting ghosts, you went to experts like the Fentons, and Mr. Gray. But the fact that you _lied_ to us, when you might have gotten hurt, or needed our help...It was a very bad decision Tucker. I expect more trust and maturity from you." Tucker flinched slightly, but nodded. Maurice switched his gaze to the Fentons.

"Did you know he wasn't telling us about this?" Both of the older hunters shook their heads, though their slightly ashamed expressions said that they had suspected.

"We never really discussed it." Maddie answered. "Tucker was interested in ghost hunting, so we made sure he knew what he was doing and wouldn't hurt himself, but mostly we let him make his own choices." Mrs. Foley nodded.

"You can still hunt ghosts, Tucker. And we understand why you had to keep it a secret from most people." She nodded towards the message machine on the stand, which had been full for about half an hour now. The phones had all been unplugged.

"So, we won't ask you for details, like who else is hunting with you. We'll have to talk to this ... Snow woman," she said in distaste, "so the less we know about your friends, the better. But if _you_ ever need anything, please talk to us honey. We're your parents."

Tucker was looking at them like he hadn't ever really seen them before. Both Fentons stood, deciding the three could use some time alone. Slowly, the pair headed for the door. The Foleys were already talking in the other room.

"So I'm not in trouble?"

"Oh, Tucker, of _course_ you are. We'll work something out. Maybe you can ghost-proof the house this weekend for free as punishment. Now that this is out, we'll probably need the protection anyway."

Both Jack and Maddie were smiling. Tucker's parents were really cool. Not like...

They both froze. In their hurry to get Tucker home and help him explain, they'd completely forgotten about Sam. And Danny.

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"We should talk, Bartus." The council ghost started at the cool, almost emotionless voice that had called out from right behind him. Now that he strained his ears, he could pick up a faint, regular ticking.

"Can this wait, Clockwork?" He asked in a voice that made his former ally, usurper, and now foe's voice seem tropical. "I'm very busy."

"You will be receiving another surprise visitor in ten minutes that you won't be too busy to see, and this is important." Clockwork insisted, floating around to face his council counterpart. "The paths to the future are twisted and dark, and much of the trouble seems to stem from you."

"Me?" Bartus asked, lifting an eyebrow. "All I want is peace and stability for ghost-kind. How is that...twisted?" Clockwork's expression didn't change.

"I know what you plan to do, Bartus. And how you plan to do it." The ghost didn't bat an eyelash.

"So you plan to tell the council that I saved one of the ghost controlling staves. Well, two, technically, but only the one now. Is that it?" Clockwork frowned slightly.

"No. I won't. To do that would be to take direct action to change the future. I won't do that." Bartus snorted.

"You can drop the holier-than-thou attitude. I know the only reason you never told the council about those staves had nothing to do with Time. You could have told them about the staves the day I kept them, just on the grounds of rule-keeping. You could have told them the day that _human_ Showenhower managed to steal one. You didn't. Because you, like me, thought they were too useful to your future plans to destroy. Spare me the moral judgment, Clockwork; you're every bit as guilty and manipulative as I am."

"Bartus," Clockwork insisted, floating closer, "I am asking you to place them out of your hands. If you must keep them, fine. But give them to someone else. Anyone else. The future that I see should you keep them is..." The council ghost held up his hand.

"That's enough." He barked. "I, more than any other council member, can appreciate a good bluff, Clockwork, but I will not stand here and listen to your veiled threats and half-truths. This isn't about your duties as master of time. This isn't even about following the Council's rules, something I would laugh to hear you preach about anyway. This is about you and how you've become so desperate for a friend with even a glimmer of understanding about what it is to wield your kind of power, that you're going out of your way to protect him, even against the best course for your own kind. However, you know that I have no intention of harming your little half-human pet. Time is not in danger, and you will do nothing."

"Go away, Clockwork, you won't persuade me. I made a mistake with Plasmius before, but never again. Phantom and his kind may look like us, and have our abilities, but they're too human to be trusted. Humans are greedy. Sooner or later, they will try to take everything we hold dear from us. And I will be ready to take action. Whether you like it or not." Finished, Bartus turned his back on the Time Master and flew away.

The light in Clockwork's eyes dimmed a bit, and the powerful spirit sighed. Things would be so much easier if Bartus were trying to be king himself. But though he _was_ a selfish, manipulative coward, Bartus _did_ care about ghost-kind. If only he wasn't so blinded by hatred and fear of humans. If only he could see that the most twisted, evil paths through time were most often paved by the ignorant with their own good intentions.

But he could not see it. And so long as Time was not threatened, Clockwork would not act. The powerful ghost could not help but feel responsible for what was to come, though. In setting up the paradox that protected Danny, he had gambled on the future, much like he always did when he made such decisions. True, most of the futures he saw at the time were bright and happy, but that didn't change the fact that the one that would come to pass was in fact one the darkest he had ever seen.

As the infinitely powerful, ancient spirit faded, to return to his home and prepare as best he could, he wore an expression that rarely crossed his wise face.

Helplessness.

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Danny sat invisibly at Sam's side in the downstairs study of the Manson estate. He would have to concentrate to make sure she wasn't affected by his power, but he refused to let go of her hand. She was going to need his support, and there was no way he would let her think her parents could keep him away.

"The news is true?" Mrs. Manson asked in a _very_ calm voice from the other side of the room, beside her husband. "You've been hunting ghosts?" From the side of the room, Bec shot her granddaughter a sympathetic look, but said nothing. No sense throwing more fuel on the fire.

"Yes." Sam answered simply. Her mother's cheeks flushed slightly.

"Would you care to explain why?" She asked tightly. Sam was quiet for several moments. Danny gave her hand a brief squeeze.

"It's the right thing to do." She answered finally. "I can help keep people safe. Protect them." Bec raised an eyebrow at the oddly familiar phrase, but again said nothing.

"I was under the impression that we had police for that." Mr. Manson responded coolly. "What we want to know is why _our_ daughter decided that her help was so vital to the city that she had to go behind our backs and traipse across the rooftops and back alleys of the city after giant monsters with a pair of teenage boys."

"_Boys_?" Sam asked, startled. "Last I heard, Tucker was the only other hunter." Both of her parents snorted.

"Please, Samantha, don't think for a moment we'll believe that." Her mother said shortly. "We both know about your little...fling with that Fenton boy, and we've allowed you your amusement until now. But if he and his disturbing family have been roping you into this...this..." The woman sighed and shook her head. Now it was Danny's turn to have his hand squeezed. Sam's hands were shaking slightly, but her face remained completely still.

"And what about that 'Spook' story?" Her father asked shortly. "I can't even begin to think what that might mean _now_. Hunting ghosts is bad enough; must you associate with the creatures, too? For heaven's sake, they're not even _human_. You saw what Phantom did to our home! Misters Fenton and Foley are already forbidden from setting foot here again, but if I ever see you associating with that..._thing_...again, I will personally enroll you in a European boarding school."

"You aren't associating with that vile creature, are you?" Her mother asked, horrified. "He may be a 'hero' to some people dear, but think of what people will say."

"Phantom is my friend." Sam said shortly. "You can punish me if you want, but you will never call him a _thing_ again." Her mother sighed mournfully.

"And I suppose it would be too much to ask you to give up ghost hunting?" Her father asked, sternly. "Bearing in mind that your answer may determine whether we ever let you see that Fenton boy again." What color remained in Sam's face drained away. She was silent for several long moments.

"No." She whispered quietly. Both parents blinked.

"Excuse me?" Her father asked, eyes wide.

"I said no." She said firmly, taking slow breaths and looking anywhere but at the empty air where Danny was. "If I agreed, I'd be giving up a part of myself, just as much as if someone asked him to give it up. Or Tucker. We aren't some high-school crush. We respect each other, and the ghost hunting is a part of that. I won't hurt what we have like that, just to have your approval, which neither of us need." Both parents were slightly red at this point, and the pair stood as one.

"We expect you and Mr. Fenton to speak to us together in a few days." Her father said shortly. "After we've straightened out this media mess." Sam blinked.

"What?" She asked, her voice finally quavering as the shock completely destroyed her self-control.

"What did you expect?" Her mother said bitterly. "It's all over the news that you hunt ghosts. If your father and I act as though we didn't approve...that we hadn't known all along..."

"You will continue on as always." Her father said grudgingly. "We hardly have a choice. The scandal if we acted any other way cannot be imagined." His expression darkened. "But you _will_ behave yourself, Samantha. Our patience has reached its absolute limit, and then some. We have been lenient towards your excessive spirit in the past, but from now on, you shall act with proper decorum. Otherwise, we will take action to remove you from all of these negative influences. Particularly the Fentons." With that, both of Sam's parents walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them with a loud snap.

Bec waited a few moments, then wheeled closer to her granddaughter. The old woman snorted, shooting the door a glare.

"'Excessive spirit' indeed. If his father were still alive to see what a tea-totaling blue-blood that boy's become..." She snorted again. "You can show yourself now, by the way." She said to the empty air on Sam's right. Danny faded into view immediately, looking a bit pale and surprised.

"How did you..."

"I didn't think for a moment you'd let my Sammy face this alone." Bec explained with an approving smile. Her expression faded. "I am so sorry for the horrible things they said about you, Danny. You've earned better than that." She smiled a bit at her granddaughter. "I'm very proud of both of you for handling that so well."

"I'm impressed too." Danny admitted, smiling in admiration at Sam. "I knew you were tough, Sam, but the way that you..." He fell off as he saw her shoulders shaking. His eyes widened in surprise as she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest. Awkwardly, he gently patted her back and shot Bec a pleading look.

"It's been a long, scary day for all of us, I think." The old woman said, reaching out and taking a hold of the girl's hand. "And making the decision you did, to your own parents no less, couldn't have been easy for you, dear. Why don't the two of us go up to my room and I'll break out a cake of 1920 pu-erh, and we'll talk all about it?" Sniffling, Sam nodded and shot Danny a sheepish smile, which he returned.

"Sorry about that." She said wetly as she let go. "I don't usually let them get to me like that, but..." He kissed her on the forehead.

"Go talk to your grandma." He said, standing and walking towards the wall. "I need to get home anyway. See you tomorrow? I mean, if they let you out of the house, that is." Sam laughed and nodded, wiping her face, once again in perfect control.

"I don't know why your parents can't see it dear." Bec said sadly as she led the young girl to the elevator. "You've fallen for a wonderful young man."

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Bartus growled to himself in frustration. The other council members looked at him with expressions ranging from sympathetic to shocked. But they weren't listening! If only there was a way to make them listen!

"Bartus," Gregory said from his high bench, when he had regained his breath, "what you suggest is ridiculous. We cannot rally the Ghost Zone to prepare for a threat that does not exist. Our concern is Phantom, not humans."

"Phantom is only a threat _because_ of his humanity." Bartus argued fervently. "You must see that his kind, like humans, have given us nothing but trouble."

"An odd thing to say," Drezelle commented from across the chamber in an icy voice, "considering you yourself once sold this council out to Plasmius."

"I admit that it was a mistake." Bartus argued. "I had not realized that the greed and crusader mentality of humanity still affected his judgment. I understand better now."

"Again, you speak almost hypocritically. What you want sounds very much like a crusade." Greg argued. "Why should we ready the ghosts for war? There have been no threats that I can perceive. The humans carry on as they always have."

"I am not asking you to march." Bartus answered. "Only be ready. The humans grow stronger. Phantom himself is a human loyalist; only think where he would stand if war broke out between us. The Fenton portal has been published, and several new artificial gates to the human world have been opened. How long before the humans look on us and see only a new people to kill and rob?"

"That is blind conjecture." Gregory argued. "Such a thing has never happened before. And for good reason. We have nothing that the humans could possibly want."

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Sigma looked back and forth nervously in the lower levels of Tower 22. S had come here to interview Mr. Gray and Miss Hoss, who they had been told were heading here to set up one of the expanded perimeter bases for the Anti-Ghost squad. Which worked fine for him, because he had just hit pay dirt. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he quickly dialed in a complex code on his agent communicator.

"This is GIW first general Alpha." The cool voice intoned. Sigma almost dropped the phone. The agent who had given him his mission was the head of the entire GIW himself! Forcing himself to calm down, he raised the speaker to his mouth.

"This is Sig- er, the unlettered agent, sir." He answered. "I've found an ectoconvertor. As I suspected, it was at the tower where M was killed." Actually, the fact he'd come to this tower at all was pure chance, but Alpha didn't need to know everything.

"Excellent." Came the immediate reply. "Our assembly crews have amassed a large array of parts, and we will begin immediate replication of the device. You are ordered to immediately grab as many of the devices as you can and drive to headquarters. S will have to do without a car."

He nodded quickly, then grinned when he realized he'd just nodded to and saluted a phone. "Yes, sir." He said shortly.

The unlettered agent quickly shut off his communicator and lifted one of the devices out of its receptacle, cutting the connecting wires. Wow, they were heavy! He might manage to get three out of there. The agent scratched his head as he set to work.

What did the GIW want with a device that changed ectoplasm into power?

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"I'm very busy now, Mr. S." Damon said shortly, brushing a layer of dust of another computer terminal and hooking in his laptop. "Perhaps if you people hadn't caused this mess in the first place, I wouldn't be."

"To be fair, sir, it was Dalv that took over the towers, and a ghost that destroyed them. Not the GIW." S answered tersely, earning a snort from the red-suited girl to his right. Between her presence here and the articles he'd seen on the news on his drive over, he was now positive Miss Manson was not the huntress. The real reason those two had been so evasive was a mystery he'd leave for later. In the meantime...

"I need information on Phantom." Damon actually turned and glared at him this time.

"How low do you people sink?" He asked incredulously. "Phantom is one of the best things that's happened to this city. And you people have been nothing but trouble. Whose side do you _think_ I'm on?"

"I didn't realize there were sides here." S answered calmly. "I'm only here for information, to make an informed decision about who and what Phantom is, and whether he's a threat. If I decide he isn't dangerous to humans, I'll have no interest in causing him trouble." Damon snorted, but nodded.

"Phantom is a ghost, but he's also a good person. Never met a better one. As for who and what he is, you'll have to ask him. Or the Fentons." He said shortly. The huntress started. "But if they know anything, they don't tell _me_." He said bitterly.

"You think he has secrets?" S asked. Damon shrugged.

"I know he does. But that's part of why I trust him. Secrets seem more of a human kind of thing to me." He answered casually.

"I think you've been here long enough." Red said sharply. Damon raised an eyebrow. "You've already caused enough trouble around here."

"Last I checked, Mr. Gray ran these towers." S answered coolly. He'd have to ask that girl how it was possible to glare through a black visor some time.

"I'm with her." Damon said casually, though he was shooting the girl a curious look. "You should go. Come talk to me after you've seen Phantom. Who knows? Maybe you can answer a few of _my _questions."

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"Hello, Bartus." The council ghost grimaced. He'd been hoping that Clockwork had been talking about a different visitor. But there was nothing to be done. Vlad was dangerous, but as long as he thought Bartus was being helpful, he'd be visibly dangerous. Bracing himself, he fixed on a neutral expression and turned around to see...

A probe. His sigh of relief was audible. Reaching over, he quickly inserted his finger into a small hole to have his ecto-signature confirmed. A loud beep came from the device a moment later.

"Greetings, Bartus." Vlad's voice came out, sounding somehow casual and intense at the same time. Yes, that man was trouble. "I've become aware of certain...stirrings within the Ghost Zone. I want more information." Bartus raised his hand and called energy into his palm.

"And don't blow this probe up and pretend it never reached you." The message continued, not missing a beat. "You did that once already. This model sent a signal back to me the second your signature was confirmed. I expect to see you within the next two days. That is all."

Soon, the probe was gone, leaving Bartus to ponder the danger of humans in solitude.

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"Danny?" Maddie called out, concerned, as she finally got home. It was testament to how worried she was about Sam that she'd asked Jack to speed.

"Hey!" Dani called out from the living room. "Where've you guys been?" Both of the older hunters looked grim.

"Honey, have you seen the news?" Maddie asked tentatively. Dani shook her head.

"No, I was busy blowing up buzzards. Then I watched some cartoons. Why?" She asked seriously, flipping the news on.

No need to explain; the pictures on screen said it all.

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"I think we should talk later." Damon said to Valerie casually. Val winced; she'd done her best to diffuse that little mix-up. But what was she supposed to say?

"I can't really discuss it." She said, finally, careful to keep it formal for Hoss's sake. "But if it makes any difference to you, I've been pushing for Phantom to talk with you about it for some time. He's just been...distracted for the last few days." Damon nodded grudgingly.

"Alright. I won't push the issue." He shot a discrete glance at Hoss. "It would be nice if people tried to be a little more open with each other." Anne seemed to flinch slightly.

"Uh, sir?" She said hesitantly. "There's something I should discuss with you." Damon perked up slightly. Finally, an end to that mess. One less thing, at least.

"Yes, Officer?" He asked formally.

"Anne, please." She said, sitting down and looking at him. "It's about...how I feel about you, sir." Damon started, eyes widening. Huntress seemed to jerk slightly.

"Er, Miss Hoss, I..." He trailed off, not sure how to answer.

"I've gotta go!" Huntress said suddenly, clicking her heels and jetting off as fast as she could. Damon winced. Oh boy...

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Ember smiled to herself. It was all still here; simple objects from all over the ghost zone. Nothing dangerous, just things like chess sets that moved by themselves (most of them weren't very good players), floating lights, special seeds that grew pure white grass, a drink that tasted slightly like raspberries that would make humans float a few inches off the ground for an hour or so...

"Gregory, we have to speak." She froze, turning to stare out from her hiding place. Not a hundred yards away, Walker was speaking with Gregory, the head of the Ghost Council. Greg already seemed annoyed for some reason, but Walker was insistent. It must be important. Gulping, Ember edged closer.

"You're sure there are ghosts living in Phantom's haunt?" Greg asked in a resigned voice. Walker nodded.

"Positive. They're not living with him, so he's in the clear, but they're in there. And considering what you all said about Phantom and..."

"Yes, yes." Gregory interrupted. "I've already said a great deal on the subject today, let's not rehash it again."

"I was wondering what should be done." Walker stated. "These ghosts are criminals, but to go against the wishes of a ghost in his own haunt..."

"Yes, yes, there's precedent on both sides." Greg nodded. "But in this case, I want you to lay low. Do _not_ draw attention to this, Walker. There are bigger things going on here than you know, and the consequences of this information do not bear thinking about." Ember paled.

"So I should just let them _stay_..."

"Yes. Leave them there. Consider it punishment by exile. If you catch them here, by all means do what you like. But keep your men out of Amity Park. Things are far too dangerous right now for rash actions."

Walker made a response, but Ember didn't catch it. She was already flying towards the nearest portal as fast as she could, the good for the store trailing along in a sack beside her.

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Jazz looked on in satisfaction as Professor Ba pressed a small green switch and the large room filled with an eerie green light. Stanford's first working ghost portal, and she'd helped get it going. Her expression of triumph melted into worry as the light reminded her that her family hadn't been in touch for most of the week. And with them, that usually meant something bad. Ignoring the cheers of her fellow classmates, Jazz edged to a nearby computer and logged onto the internet. A few seconds later, she jumped up, gasping.

"Professor." She said shortly, striding over to Mr. Ba. The short, balding man blinked in surprise from behind his coke-bottle glasses. "I need to go home. There's been a family emergency."

"Oh my!" He gasped, gripping her arm in concern. "Nobody hurt, I hope."

"No, nothing like that." She admitted, biting her lip. "But several people who have been hunting rogue ghosts with my br-er, parents, have gotten into serious trouble. They're going to need me." Ba blinked for several moments, then cleared his throat.

"Miss Fenton," he said sternly, "you are without a doubt the most talented student I have ever had the pleasure to teach. Your insights into the inner psyche of ghosts and the nature of ectoplasm are more concise and supported than any other, including the teachers. As such, I cannot abide you taking a sabbatical for something that is not immediately connected to your family, and neither shall the school." Jazz stared at the man in hurt surprise. He smiled.

"In fact, I want to give you the honor of being the first freshman to take on a field assignment for the school. You are to immediately begin on a three week study on the dynamics of ghost-human relations. Feel free to choose any city with frequent ghost visitation." Jazz stared blankly for several seconds, then beamed and hugged Mr. Ba.

"This is most irregular." He huffed, then shot her a wink. But Jazz missed it. She was already running for her apartment. If she booked an overnight plane, she could be home by morning.

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GIW agent Alpha nodded in satisfaction. For the last thirty years, he had been unable to think of any way to protect humanity from the ghost menace. In all those years, only Phantom had ever acted against the standard evil of ghost behavior, and his ghostly nature assured him of where his true loyalties where.

But that had changed. All thanks to the Fentons. Their portals gave his agents a direct, permanent window into that other world, and now their ectoconvertors gave them a way to eat away at the very stuff that kept the vile creatures alive. Better still; the power capacity of the generators brought him the backing of the government at large. Free power would do that. Besides, it wasn't like they would be destroying _people_.

The only piece of the puzzle that remained was a way to prevent human casualties. The ghosts would insist on fighting back, of course, so the losses remained the last daunting obstacle to his plans. But even to this, there was a solution.

Records spoke of an artifact, recovered from the Ghost Zone by a human mystic centuries ago. The man, likely driven mad by the strange, fluid plane, had come back a professed lover of all ghosts, and used the artifact for the amusement and education of humans. After discovering this story, Alpha had worked tirelessly to track the red sphere-tipped staff down. Unfortunately, Phantom had destroyed the thing before it could be uncovered, probably because he knew the item's true power. If nothing else, this action proved to Alpha that Phantom truly sided with ghost kind.

Fortunately, there was a second staff. The ancient mystic had spoken often of it, saying that he had not been able to take them both back with him. Only one human on earth might now know the way to get to that place in the Ghost Zone where the staff was hidden. Fortunately, Alpha mused as he opened a dirty cell door, he would not need to spend any more time searching.

"Hello, Freakshow."


	12. A Public Spectacle

HI:D

No this isn't an April Fool's joke. I'm really updating. Again. :) Okay, this one doesn't have any epic battle scenes either, but it's got some pretty funny moments. (I think) And all of the pieces are nearing their final positions. (Evil Vlad-laugh) Prepare for the coming storm. Muahaha. XP

Thanks and adoration to all reviewer-types. Thanks to: LiLIndianPrinzess, Egyptian Ghost Kitty, cordria, Adran06, dizappearingirl, hermie-the-frog, Grumbles, Sasia93, ShiroAndFubuki, Rob Phantom, 'Quacked Lurker', Nobody Famous, egyptianqueen777, FantomoDrako, UlrichxYumi DannyxSam 4ever, Nikky Phantom of the Opera, Chaos Dragon, acosta perez jose ramiro, Me-against-the-world, cariadiorarua, Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1, dannyp14, Queen S of Randomness 016, Fan-Fic-CC27, Nubecula, SilverScreech, Esme Kali Phantom, Diamond Raider, and fan-girls2.0. Much love

Also, for those of you who figured out where Professor Ba got his name, kudos and cookies:D For those of you who didn't, if you care, look it up on Wikipedia. No prizes though, it was a one-time offer. :)

On with the show!

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A Public Spectacle

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Tucker yawned sleepily and rubbed his eyes. Sunlight streamed through his window. Eyes widening, he sat up and stared in horror at his alarm clock. How could he forget to set his alarm clock?!

"Tucker, are you up yet?" His mom called from downstairs. "We'll be going to an interview session with Sam's parents in an hour, and we thought we'd drop you off at school on the way." Tucker gulped. Oh right. School.

"Yes!" He called down after he got his composure back, rolling out of bed and searching his floor for clean clothes to wear.

"It won't be so bad." He said to himself as he fished out a pair of pants that looked like they were probably clean. "You've dealt with evil wishing ghosts and mind controlling mummies. You know where your soft spots are. No way regular school kids can get to you."

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"There's a ghost shield over our house." Bec said conversationally as Sam yawned and sat up on her small bedroom sofa. "So you probably _won't_ be meeting with your friends here for a while." The Goth girl blinked sleepily, but slowly frowned as reality came back to her. She flushed slightly.

"Look, grandma, about last night..." The old woman lifted a hand.

"Think nothing of it, dear. What are we old folks for, if not to give shoulders for crying and good tea for drinking?" Sam smiled hesitantly.

"Thanks, grandma. And sorry about the 'crying' part. I didn't mean to." Bec snorted.

"Sam, you're my granddaughter, and I love you. But you really should open up more. If you're sad, a good cry does wonders. And who would hold it against you? Your parents tried to take everything you care about away from you yesterday; of course you'd feel a bit down." The old woman shook her head sadly.

"A bit." She chuckled hollowly. Bec smiled.

"There, you see? Sam, you should try and be more open with people. I know you're sure of who you are, but you don't need to be unemotional to be strong. Today, a lot of people are going to talk to you; treat you differently, and try and make you act like what they imagine you should act like. And acting uncaring won't change that. If you want to make it through, show them you like who you are, and talk to your friends. Heaven knows you worked hard enough to keep them close."

Sam winced. "Do you think mom and dad will really try and get rid of them?" Bec grinned wickedly.

"Of course, dear. That's what will make spending time with them so much fun."

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Danny stepped out of the shower feeling much more awake. Though he could wake completely from a dead sleep, if allowed to wake up gradually he tended to spend his time between bed and shower as a member of the living dead, and there was nothing that fixed that quite like a cool shower. Not Dani-using-ice-powers cool, but still...

"No, Pamela, I don't know for sure if Danny has been associating with Sam and Phantom on their ghost-hunting trips. You'll have to talk to him later." His mother said into the phone as he trudged by, still dripping. He paused, and shot her a curious look.

'_Sam's mom'_ she mouthed to him.

"Sorry." He whispered back. She grimaced and nodded a bit to show that his sympathy was appreciated.

"Now I know you don't appreciate what Phantom did to your house back in April, but there's no need to refer to him as a 'conscious blob of rancid ectoplasm.'"

'_Rancid?'_ Danny mouthed quietly to himself, and discretely gave his left armpit a sniff. Maddie's lips twitched. Shrugging, he ambled off to his room.

"Yes, I suppose as Sam's...supplier, I should attend the interview as well." Maddie conceded as her son closed his door. "But we'll have to leave Danny out of this until we know more of the facts. Yes, I'll see you there. Goodbye."

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The unnamed agent handed the shaking key ring to the on-duty parking attendant. Focusing his bleary eyes, he tried for several moments to work out what business a key ring had shaking like that.

Oh. His hand was shaking.

Understandable. He'd planned on sleeping yesterday afternoon, after a long day of driving Agent S all over Amity Park. But he'd been called back to headquarters, and had once again driven non-stop to arrive as soon as possible.

"You're wanted in the next room." The young man stated calmly as he replaced the exhausted agent behind the wheel and drove off. Shrugging, and too tired to ask questions anyway, the nameless agent trudged off to the nearest door he could find.

"Agent Sigma." A calm, shadowed figure said with a crisp even tone from the other side of a low desk that filled half the room.

"Er, actually, I don't have a-"

"You do now." The man interrupted. "Keep Sigma. It suits you. Besides, if you managed to bring me what I asked for, you've more than earned an honorable reassignment." Sigma gulped.

"Thank, you sir." He said, wobbling slightly to the side as he saluted.

"Dismissed, agent." Sigma immediately strode from the room to find a place to collapse.

He was exhausted. But it had been worth it. He was already moving up through the GIW ranks, and all he'd had to do was pick up a few parts. And leave S without a car, of course, but he'd been given his orders from much higher up. S would understand.

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"What do you mean '_insufficient clearance_'?" S practically shouted into the phone. "Sigma works for me! And leaving me stranded here is blatant insubordination. Now I demand to know where he took my car!" He gritted his teeth. "Yes, I mean the GIW's car." He conceded. Slowly his face turned red. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm one of the top ranked agents in the GIW. I've served for over a decade, and I was co-head of the Phantom Project. What have _you_ done for this organization?"

"Your job. Very funny." He growled. "Now listen to me. Get me agent Sigma or...hello? Hello?"

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"Valerie?" He was knocking on the door again. Grimacing, Val moved to turn away. "Come on Val, I know you're in there. Let's talk about it." Slowly, the huntress took a few steadying breaths and turned to face the door.

"Come in." Damon turned the latch and stepped inside, looking sheepish.

"Valerie I swear, if I'd had any idea, I never would have made you-"

"Spy on her?" Val asked, cutting in. Her dad winced, but nodded. "So what now, dad? Are you two going out?" Damon sat down on the side of the mattress and turned to look at his daughter with a carefully neutral expression.

"What do you think?" He asked gently. Val scowled.

"I don't know what to think." She admitted finally. "I mean, when I didn't know she was talking about _you_, I told her to give it a shot. I even knew 'he' had a family already, and told her to try anyway. But now..." She shook her head.

"It's different since it's me? Because it's you?"

"Yes." She said finally. "You've always seemed happy enough with just work. And it's been the two of us for so long, and I don't know her and now if you're dating her..." Damon held up his hand, smiling slightly.

"Relax, Valerie. We're not 'dating'. You don't need to panic." Val stared.

"Huh? You're not?" Damon shook his head.

"Anne and I had a long talk, and we decided to spend more time off-duty together before we make any decisions. Give her a chance to talk with you, let you get to know each other, let _us_ get to know each other..." He shrugged. "Anne likes me Valerie, but neither of us is ready to make a huge commitment. Especially at your expense." He reached over and gave her a hug. "I'd never do that to you, sweetheart. And she wouldn't either. She said so herself." Valerie looked at him skeptically for a moment.

"Do you like her?" She asked finally. Damon shrugged.

"I think she's a very strong, caring, driven woman. But if there's something more, I'll find out by spending time with her. And you, too." He wrinkled his nose. "Now get up and get cleaned up. Please." Scowling playfully, Val threw a pillow at his head, which he quickly caught and used to pummel his giggling daughter.

"Thanks for understanding, daddy." She murmured as she rolled off the bed. Damon smiled.

"You too, sweetie. You, too."

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Danny and Tucker were waiting at the curb closest to Sam's house when she finally came jogging up to greet them. She frowned.

"What's with you guys? My house is over there." She said, pointing. Danny blinked.

"Yeah, but if I remember right, we're not allowed over there anymore." He answered, raising an eyebrow to turn his statement into a question. Sam scowled, but nodded.

"Grandma and I talked it out last night, and we figure I've got no choice. For as long as it takes to fix this mess, I'm Superdaughter." She glared back at the house. Now that she looked, the flickering green energy of the new ghost shield was just barely visible. That probably explained why Danny and Tucker assumed the ban was still on.

"Not that they want to talk to me much." She muttered as they headed off. "They just asked again if you were involved." She said to Danny.

"Which me?" Sam snorted

"Does it matter? They're still trying to pin the blame firmly somewhere else, to make it look like I was tricked into this. But I wouldn't budge, so they'll have to say it was all their idea. Or say they didn't know about it, but they'd never make themselves look bad like that." Tucker grimaced, then plastered on a smile.

"Hey, it could be worse, right?" Danny and Sam both stared incredulously at him. He flushed a bit. "I mean, yeah, people know we hunt ghosts now, but it's not like ghosts show up at the school anymore."

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"Class," Mr. Lancer announced from beside his oddly dressed guest, "I know things have been a bit hectic this last week, but I think my guest here has some news that might cheer you all up." Danny, Tucker, and Sam all stared, mouths slightly slack. "This is Mr. Parmasule. He and some associates have opened up a new shop downtown, and he's asked me to let him take the last minute of class today to speak to you."

Ghostwriter nodded hesitantly, flashing Danny an apologetic smile. The ghost boy's eyes flared darkly, but he quickly shut them and counted to ten, returning them to their usual blue.

"Yes, my, er, family has been exploring the Ghost Zone for generations." He said. He now had the class's full attention. "I suppose we were something like gypsies. We would wander until we found a natural portal, and go in. Over the years, we've found some spectacular things, and I have decided, finally, to settle the family down and sell our heirlooms as a business. We call it 'The Ghost Zone.'" A few students rose eyebrows at this. Writer flushed.

"Not very creative, I know. But it will be easy to remember. I hope you will all stop by and see what we have to sell. The Ghost Zone is full of many strange and wonderful things that science cannot yet create. I hope you'll give my family the chance to share these things with you." The class bell rang.

"Thank you class." Mr. Lancer called out as books were shoved into backpacks and students were jostled. "Remember, pages one hundred through one eighty by Wednesday, no excuses." Danny was already slipping out of the room, snagging Writer by the cuff as he went. Sam and Tucker stayed close by, more to use Writer as a deterrent to curious students than to overhear.

"What are you doing here?" Danny hissed at the spirit. Writer winced.

"You knew I was planning on opening soon. And circumstances have become a bit more...desperate." Danny dropped his forehead into his palm.

"What?" He asked.

"Ember overheard Walker talking with the head of the Ghost Council yesterday." He responded, using a low voice and looking nervously at the small crowd of students who seemed to be hovering near Danny's friends. "They know."

"How much do they know?"

"Enough. But he seems to want to cover this up for now, not come after you." Danny's eyes grew confused. Writer nodded. "I feel the same way. The only reason Gregory would want to cover up something that would finally let him lock you up would be to stop something worse from happening."

"Then wha-"

"Scarlet Letter!" Lancer shouted angrily from his doorway. Writer raised an eyebrow. Every student in the nearby area paused and turned towards him. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Sam and Tucker hunt ghosts!" Called a student from the back of the large human hall-plug. Lancer bristled.

"It seems half of the people in this city do that. That's no reason to block the school's hallway!" He turned towards the pair. "And you two shouldn't be standing around either, especially if you'll just draw crowds. Why on earth are you waiting outside my classroom?" Both blinked.

"We were waiting for Danny." Tucker said hesitantly.

"And I was talking to G-Mr. Parmasule, about his shop." Danny quickly finished. "My parents will want to know about this." Lancer's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I suppose, but you can talk to him in an empty classroom." He allowed. "Now get to class. If any of you are late, do not expect a pass from me." The hallway started to slowly clear. Lancer turned and smiled at Writer.

"Now I believe you mentioned something about a first edition Charles Dickens you had for sale?" Ghostwriter beamed, and nodded, heading back to the office as Danny and his friends took off, Danny mouthing '_later_' to his friend.

"Yes, yes indeed. Very good condition, too." Writer answered, giving Danny a discreet bob of the head.

"You have an interesting name, Mr. Parmasule. Is it English?"

"Oh, something like that. Do you always shout out book titles like that?"

"An old habit, I've been trying to...

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Sam and Tucker collapsed down into their seats in the lunch room, both of them slightly pale and tense. Danny winced; but there was nothing to do, he didn't share the previous hour with them all the time.

"Was it that bad?" He asked. Both of them stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

"People have been staring at us all day." Tucker said dully. Sam nodded. Valerie frowned sympathetically as she took her seat beside him. "I mean, I remember the time everyone found out about _you_, and I guess it's not that bad, but..."

"Wait." Val interrupted. She turned towards Danny. "When did that happen? I don't remember anything like that."

"Big explosion," Danny answered. "I was chased by the government, my family and friends' families were captured, I flew a jet, a hovercraft, and a rocket, and Sam fought giant teddy bears. Altering the fundamental fabric of time and space was involved. It's a long, boring story. You wouldn't like it."

"I am _so_ ready for this day to be over." Sam groaned, interrupting Val's more intense questioning and idly pushing around a grape with her fork. "I swear, the next big dumb idiot that bothers me about that story, I'm gonna-"

"Manson, Foley." Dash called out as he sidled over to their table. "So it's true? You two have been fighting ghosts with Phantom?" Sam turned slightly purple, but Tucker dropped a restraining hand on her arm.

"Yes, Dash." He said coolly, not moving from his seat. Danny rolled his eyes.

"I mean, you _talk_ to him and stuff." He pressed. Tucker nodded, forking himself another slice of mystery meat.

"What exactly do you want, Dash?" Val asked from beside him. Dash scowled at her, but the returned his attention to the others.

"Could you get me his autograph?" He finally asked. Danny coughed violently. "I mean, that dude's hard core. We even fought ghosts together once."

"Dash," Sam said, "we don't like you. And you don't like us. You've never been nice to us. Why should we get you _anything_?" Dash's winning smile slipped for a second.

"Well, that's gonna change." He said brightly. "You and Tucker are two of the coolest kids in school right now. All of the parties, all of the perks, everything. In fact, why don't you two come with me back to my table and we'll talk about it." Both of them blinked for a second, and then turned slightly red. Dash assumed they were shy, but actually they were fighting down laughter.

"I don't know Dash." Sam said in her best hesitant voice. "Could Danny come too?" Dash frowned, and gave Danny a cursory glance.

"Does he fight with Phantom too?" He asked snidely. Danny's lip twitched.

"No, can't say I do." He said lightly. "Why?"

"We only want the ghost hunters to eat with us." Dash said brusquely, turning back to Sam and Tucker. "So what'll it be? Wanna come sit with us?" The two exchanged glances for a second, then looked him right in the eye.

"Nope."

Dash looked like he was going to argue his point further, but suddenly his eyes flashed green, and his mouth closed. Nodding, he turned and walked off, past his table and into the school. The other three at the table turned to look at Danny. He had his eyes shut, and a small bead of sweat had formed over his right eye. Some of the color was leaching from the tip of his hair. A minute later, he took a short, gasping breath and settled back into his seat, his hair and eyes back to normal.

"Out of the school?" Tucker asked conversationally.

"Ladies room."

"Nice." Sam said casually as some shouting was heard far off in the building. Danny shrugged.

"I figured he'd bugged us enough. Besides, I wanted to see if I could do that." He confessed, grinning slightly. Val smirked.

"So, what was that about time and space?"

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"Activate."

"Sir!" A nearby technician saluted and flipped a large switch. The air sizzled with electrical discharge, and a swirling green gate opened at the end of the room.

Alpha smiled, his gaze flickering briefly to the prisoner at his side. Freakshow had been oddly compliant so far, but it was probably more from this chance to get out of his cell than anything else.

"All is working?" He called out. Across the board, technicians called out 'all clear'.

Nodding, the agent stepped forward. Around the rim of the ghost portal, special recesses had been formed for the ectoconverters. Once installed, the devices would continually suck out the swirling atmosphere of the Ghost Zone and convert it into more energy than the portal needed to operate. Once the first of the 'free energy' generators was running smoothly, mass production would begin with a will.

But that wasn't why this portal was activated now. Alpha had twenty-four hours between this moment and the activation of the converters. In that time, he and Freakshow would go deep into the Ghost Zone and find the last remaining ghost controlling staff. According to the criminal, it belonged to some ghost named Bartus, who Showenhower had called 'particularly powerful and devious' in his journal. Well, Alpha was more than willing to show him that humans could be every bit as dangerous as ghosts. And once he had the staff, and an army of ghosts to guard the generators, all of the Ghost Zone would fall. His lifetime effort to save humanity from the monsters on the other side would finally be finished.

"Let's go." He said shortly, dragging Freakshow along by a chain.

"Happy to be of service!" His prisoner said, smiling broadly, and immediately marched ahead of him, lifting his knees up high with each step. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Scowling, Alpha allowed the demented pale man to lead him into the swirling green abyss, his only comfort the knowledge that soon, all of this would be gone.

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The walls were painted green. The doors were purple. The lights were all dim, and cases of strange things – some moving – filled the room. And over behind the glass counter, Ember flashed the first customers of the day a hesitant smile.

"Er, welcome to The Ghost Zone?" She tried hesitantly.

Sam and Tucker didn't answer; they were too busy looking around. The cool stuff all over the shop drove all other thoughts from their minds. They forgot being bothered all day. They forgot that Danny and Ghostwriter had to turn them invisible and fly them here to avoid a large crowd of students. They even forgot that they were here to hear bad news.

Danny snorted. "What did you do to your hair?" Ember winced, and ran her fingers through the long, brown strands.

"Look, I can't just walk around as some blue-haired, spiky human." She said shortly. "And last time I checked, white and spiky wasn't the height of fashion either, so back off, Phantom-boy."

"Relax, Ember." Ghostwriter said soothingly. "He's had a rough day, and he hasn't heard your news yet."

"Oh I head most of it." Danny said shortly, floating over to a shelf to look at some green blobs that seemed to light up more as he got closer. "What I need to know is what it means."

"We don't know." Ember answered simply. "And don't touch those." She cautioned as Danny reached over to inspect an odd red flower. "Honestly, we're just as confused as you are. We thought the council would jump at the chance to get rid of you."

"Who says the council knows?" Tucker asked absently as he picked up a small metal box with odd symbols cut into it. "I thought it was just Greg and Walker. And Greg _did_ say to keep this quiet."

"It is possible someone else on the council could use this." Writer mused, tapping his chin. "And Greg is working to protect himself, not you. But what could possibly be going on?"

"Whatever it is, could it involve the GIW?" Sam asked. Danny blinked.

"S?" He asked. "I don't think so. You remember how he acted; he doesn't seem like he's doing something suspicious. My money's on Vlad." He said shortly. "That creep's always got his hands in something. But aside from running for mayor, he hasn't done anything, and he's way too low in the polls to be dangerous there either."

"You could always kick him out of town." Tucker suggested. Danny snorted.

"So he can claim that Phantom is trying to control Amity Park's government? I have no reason to throw him out that people would believe, and he hasn't really _done_ anything."

"What about that overshadowing thing?" Tucker asked.

"Can you prove it was him?" Danny asked. Nobody said anything. He sighed.

"I should probably talk to him." He admitted. "I've put it off long enough, distractions or not. I'll do it after school tomorrow. Tonight, let's just deal with this shop, Sam and Tucker's exposure, the GIW, and anything else I forgot."

"Well we're all set here." Ghostwriter said firmly. "You should go home and get things settled with your parents and Dani." Smiling nervously, he hovered over and rested his hand on the lock of the door.

"Oh, and remember, you're humans now." Danny insisted, glancing at the ghost's shoes. "You have to walk on the ground."

"You mean all the time?" Ember asked sarcastically as Writer dropped. "Relax, Danny, we've done this human bit before. Now get out of here before I decide I'm madder than I thought about the hair comment."

Chuckling, Danny looped his arms through Sam's and Tucker's and closed his eyes. A brief _pop_ of imploding air later and Writer ushered the first group of curious customers into the new shop.

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"Ugh, it's _so_ good to be outta that place!" Val said contentedly as she flew on her hover board. Dani nodded from her spot floating beside her.

"You're telling me. All day long, people were bugging me about how I know Danny who knows Sam and Tucker who know Phantom. Who bug's people for that kinda thing?" She asked in exasperation. Val nodded.

"It was kinda weird. I mean, they were all getting these big props about being super-cool ghost hunters. I don't know, I guess I felt like I was getting blown off."

"Tell me about it." Dani muttered. Val paused in midair and cocked her head to the side.

"Is that why you've been giving me static lately?" She asked, surprised. Dani paused too, a bit red.

"Er, sorry about that." She said. "It's just really annoying to be friends with someone who's always going _on _and _on_ about how cool someone you know is, when you're just as cool but can't say so." Val nodded, taking off again.

"I guess I can understand that. If it makes you feel better, my life isn't any better. I have to get to know this officer on dad's team as me and as the Red Huntress, and he might start dating her. As Red, I already gave my approval, and she'll want me to help her out, but as me, I'm still kinda off about it. I don't really know her, but how can I say no? Red wouldn't care, and _I_ want my dad to be happy." Dani shrugged, then brightened.

"I know the perfect solution that will instantly make everything all better." She said, grinning. Val cocked her head to one side.

"And what's that?"

"The totally cliché, ultimate feel-good food." Dani said in a matter-of-fact tone. Val laughed.

"Fine. But you're buying. You ate all of mine last time." Dani stuck out her tongue, and put on some extra speed. Laughing, Val followed close behind.

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S flipped on the television in his small motel room. The news would be starting in a few short minutes and he didn't want to miss any of the interview Miss Snow had had with the Fentons, Foleys, and Mansons earlier in the day. And later that night, perhaps, he could arrange an interview of his own. Sigma may have taken off to do who-knew-what, but S still had a job to do. And in the big, complicated mess that Amity Park had become, he desperately needed some answers.

Tonight, he would talk to Phantom.

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Jack and Maddie stumbled tiredly back into their house after a long, exhausting day of interviews. Not that either of them minded answering questions. It was just the constant strain of covering for Danny and making both him and Phantom look like two different, good people that was so draining. Sighing, they dropped off the keys on a nearby end table and staggered into the living room.

Both of them froze in shock at a very odd sight.

"Please make him put me down." Jazz asked, exasperated, as Danny spun her in a circle, hugging her and laughing.

"I really missed you!" He said, beaming, as he let her go to wobble unsteadily towards her stunned parents.

"Jazz?" Maddie asked, starting to smile.

"Jazzypants!" Jack roared, rushing forward. Jazz jumped back nervously.

"No thanks, dad. One's enough." She laughed nervously. Jack hugged her anyway, smiling.

"What brings you back home, sweetie?" Maddie asked, concerned. Jazz scowled.

"As if you don't know. Look at everything that's going on! I leave for a few weeks, and everything falls apart." Danny rolled his eyes. "Vlad for mayor? Mass overshadowing? Sam and Tucker exposed?"

"And a new ghost-run shop, uncontrollable mutations, and a GIW agent!" Jack added, nodding. Jazz turned and glared at her brother, who was glaring at their dad.

"See? And I didn't even _know_. What? You thought if you didn't tell me I wouldn't worry?" Danny sighed and plopped down on the couch.

"I'm sorry Jazz. I knew you'd freak out and come back. I didn't want you to miss school." She scowled.

"School isn't everything you know." She stated. "I really worried about you guys." She blinked. "Where is everyone anyway?" Danny shrugged.

"I dropped off Sam and Tucker on the way here, and I don't know where Dani is. I had to leave her behind at the school so I could get Sam and Tucker away. And you haven't said what you're doing about school." He repeated pointedly. Jazz sniffed.

"I've been reassigned to do field research for the next few weeks. A study on ghost-human relations." She answered crisply. Her eyes widened slightly. "But what did dad mean about a 'ghost-run shop'?"

"Shh." Danny interrupted, holding up his hand and turning towards the television. The news was starting.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Vlad watched avidly as the Mansons professed their long-held belief in community service, and their support of their daughter in her 'ghost hobbies'. He snorted. They might not be very bright, but they were decent liars, he had to admit.

He scowled. It seemed his plans had been thwarted at every turn. Were ghost powers the only real reason he'd ever succeeded before?

"No." He said shortly, shaking his head. Of course not. He was Vlad Masters. The powers had helped, certainly, but without his powerful mind he never would have risen so high, never attained power enough to one day perhaps become king of the Ghost Zone, and take everything that was rightfully his.

But how to manage now? He supposed he didn't really need to be mayor. The position itself wasn't particularly valuable, more a strategic move than anything else. Yet...

Hmm. His original plan had been to have Daniel discover Walker's servants, after a tip-off by him to the Towers. Then he could go public with how he and Phantom had worked together to help rid the town of ghosts. But of course that diabolical machine of Mr. Foley's had put a stop to that. Ah well, at least he still had Wulf and his friends to use, in time. But how to counteract any negative campaigning the Fentons might attempt and start raising his poll numbers?

He would have to take credit for the tip-off, and substitute the older Fentons in for Daniel in his scheme. Not quite as dramatic, perhaps, but it would serve its purpose. And as soon as he heard back from Bartus, he might be able to rally a few extra ghosts to his cause as well. Daniel's part he'd have to improvise, though as impulsive as the child usually was, he was sure he'd act sooner or later. And of course, as long-term plans go, he would have to reach the Ghost Council and find a way to wriggle out of those blasted charges Clockwork had against him if he ever wanted to become Plasmius again. But with how they felt towards Daniel, liberating one of his most motivated opponents should be an easy thing to request.

Nodding to himself, Vlad switched off the television and headed upstairs to bed. Someday he might become Plasmius again, but in the meantime he would relish taking control of Daniel's city as a human.

Far off in Wisconsin, a small Petri dish was filled with a swirling red soup. Electrodes dropped inside. Images were scanned, DNA read. And a tiny pulse was sent into the goop.

A small black ring sparked around the culture, then faded away again.


End file.
